


Behind His Walls

by fox_it2me



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-27
Updated: 2018-04-18
Packaged: 2018-09-20 05:11:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 25,800
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9477068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fox_it2me/pseuds/fox_it2me
Summary: Reader-Chan is an aspiring illustrator looking for a fresh start after the devastating and unmentionable death of her parents. With the help of longtime family friends, Erwin and Petra Smith, and their son Armin, she finds this new beginning at Trost University—home to one of the most prestigious art programs around. While she seems to excel at most of her art classes, there’s one professor that seems to have it out for her—the mysterious Levi Ackerman. As Reader-Chan tries to uncover his stony exterior, she discovers he’s full of more surprises than she thought.





	1. Chapter 1

“Aaaand that’s the last one!”   
Erwin Smith placed the cardboard box down gently on the tiled kitchen floor. He stood up tall and stretched his back until he heard a small ‘pop!’ and sighed satisfactorily.  
You looked up from the box of clothes you had been unpacking.  
“Thanks, Mr. Smith,” you grinned and glanced at the red-headed woman who was busy cleaning the apartment bathroom, “And you too, Mrs. Smith.”   
The woman halted her scrubbing and looked at you with a warm smile.  
“Please, f/n, just call us Erwin and Petra from now on. No need for that “Mr.” and “Mrs.” stuff anymore.”     
You nodded earnestly.   
“Right. Okay. Thanks, Petra.”   
  
“What about me!?!”  
You suddenly felt a sizable mass fall on your back, and two small arms wrapped around your neck.   
You chuckled, turning back to look at the bright-eyed blond hugging you.  
“Of course I didn’t forget about you, Armin! You’ve been the best helper today!”   
The child giggled with delight as you tickled his side teasingly, and relinquished his hold of you.   
“Where do you want this, f/n?” Erwin asked, indicating to the old, blue armchair in your small living room.  
“How about in the corner there, next to that side table?”   
Erwin nodded and began pushing on the chair, but feigned difficulty.  
“Ugh,” he grunted, “This is just  _too_  heavy for me to move all on my own.” He raised an eyebrow at the young boy now jumping up and down.  
“I can help! I can help! I’ll push it!” Armin cried and raced over to his father.   
Erwin grinned and started putting his effort into the task as his son pushed with all his might. The chair easily slid across the room and ended right where you specified.  
“Phew! Thank you, Armin, I couldn’t have done it without you!” Erwin ruffled the blond boy’s hair with a large hand, eliciting another giggle from him.   
  
“The bathroom’s all cleaned, f/n,” Petra emerged from the adjoining room, wiping her forehead with the back of her hand. “What else can I do?”   
“Hmm…” you finished putting the last of your clothes in the dresser and stood up, patting the dust off your pants.   
“I think that’s it, really.”   
You scanned the area to see what else needed to be done.   
The apartment’s kitchen doubled as the entrance hall, with an attached living room, bathroom, and bedroom. The furniture mostly consisted of Erwin and Petra’s old things—the armchair, a small couch, a couple side tables, and a mismatched dining table set. It wasn’t the roomiest place to live either, but it was good enough for you. Plus, it was only a few minutes’ walk from Trost University, which you would start classes at tomorrow.   
  
“Wait!” called Armin, interrupting your thoughts, “There’s still one box left!” He pointed to the one Erwin had just brought in sitting on the kitchen floor.   
“Good eye, Armin,” you winked, and walked over to the box labeled “f/n’s apartment.” You recognized it as one of the first boxes you packed nearly two months ago. It contained most of your framed pictures and various decorations.   
Kneeling down next to it, you opened the cardboard flaps and drew a sharp breath upon seeing its contents.  
“f/n, where did you put the pillows for the couch?” Erwin called from the living room.  
He walked into the kitchen, assuming you didn’t hear him when he was met with silence.  
“f/n, where did you—” he stopped dead in his tracks, noticing your wide-eyed stare with concern.   
You sat kneeled above the box, staring down at something no one else could see, with a desolate expression on your face. Petra, Erwin, and Armin all watched with baited breath as you reached a shaky hand in, and pulled out a simple picture frame.   
  
Taking a step further into the kitchen, Erwin carefully peered over your shoulder to get a better glance.   
His bushy eyebrows furrowed sympathetically as he recognized his longtime friend, Ian l/n and his wife in the picture. Your parents.   
Erwin crept forward and knelt beside you, noticing the tears brimming in your eyes. He placed a hand on your shoulder.   
“They’d be so proud of you, f/n.”   
He gave a comforting squeeze, and after a few seconds, you smiled up at him.  
“Thanks Mr. Smi—I mean, Erwin.”  
You suddenly felt something crash into you, and turned to see Armin giving you yet another hug. You chuckled faintly. He was such an affectionate child.   
Wrapping your arms around the small boy, you held him in a loving squeeze for a moment. When you released him, he frowned at seeing your tears.  
“Why are you crying f/n?” he asked innocently.  
You smiled reassuringly.  
“I’m just so happy to be here, close to you, silly!” you poked him in the stomach, causing Armin to squeal with laughter.  
“Does that mean we can do movie nights!?” his eyes sparkled.  
“Yes!”  
“Can I choose the movie?”  
“Of course!”  
“And make popcorn!?”  
“Can’t forget that!”  
“And make a pillow fort?”  
You giggled too, amused by the child’s excitableness.   
“Yes, we can make a pillow fort.”  
“Awright!!”   
Armin, now satisfied with his answers, scrambled over to his mother, wrapping himself around her leg.  
  
You sniffed your nose and wiped your eyes on your sleeve before standing up and walking to your bedroom and placed the picture tenderly on your bedside table.   
“Is there anything else we can do for you?” Petra stared with her large, puppy-dog eyes, searching your face in concern.  
You shook your head.   
“No, you guys have done plenty. I’ve got the rest from here.”  
“Are you sure?” Petra pressed.  
“Positive.”  
You moved into the kitchen as the trio began putting their shoes on, Petra collecting her purse.  
The red-head then walked over to you, pulling you into a tight hug.  
“You’ll do great tomorrow, I know it. We’re all rooting for you,” she murmured into your ear.   
You returned the embrace earnestly, thankful for this woman who sent at least a dozen casseroles to you two years ago.   
Two years ago…after “The Incident”.  
  
Petra released her grip, and pointed a motherly finger at you.  
“Remember: preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and bake until the casserole is golden on top. I left you a Chicken-Chile and a ham one. Understand?”   
You grinned widely and nodded vigorously.   
“Good.”  
She turned back to look at her son.  
“Armin, say goodbye to f/n now.”   
Armin dashed to your side, and wrapped around your leg in yet another hugging position.   
“I love you, f/n!” he cheered, holding on tight.   
You patted his head affectionately.  
“Love you too, buddy.”  
The boy still strapped onto your leg, Erwin stepped forth to pull you into a quick, but giant bear hug.   
“Oof! Erwin!”  
The man released you from his clutches with a grin, and patted you (rather hard) on the back.  
“We’ll see you tomorrow for dinner, yeah?”   
You nodded.   
“6:00?”   
“Yes ma’am.”   
“Mom’s making spaghetti!” Armin’s voice chimed from below.  
You smiled.  
“Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”   
  
“Wonderful,” Erwin took a step toward the door and beckoned for his son to follow. “Come on, Armin, time to go.”  
The boy reluctantly unwrapped himself from your leg (from which you were thankful for the circulation to return) and tottered over to his parents.  
“Call us if you need  _anything_ ,” Petra called as she opened the door. “We’re only a few minutes away!”  
“Okay!”   
“And I want my casserole pans back when you’re done!”  
“Will do!” you grinned assuredly, and gave a final wave as they shut the door behind them.   
  
The apartment was now silent, only the faint hum of the air conditioner being audible. The flat smelled lemony from the aftermath of Petra’s cleaning spree.  
You locked the front door and made your way into the bedroom, sprawling out on the queen mattress. The sky had turned to its nightly blue shade over an hour ago, and you could see the glow of the full moon stream into your window.  
Staring up at the discolored, white ceiling for a minute, you frowned slightly. It had been a while since you had cried over your parents. Maybe a couple months now, a new record.  
Sighing from the exhaustion of moving, you stripped down to your sports bra and underwear, and pulled the sheets over your body.   
Leaning over to set your alarm, you took one last glance at the photograph of your parents, smiling faintly at their beaming faces, before rolling over to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!  
Blinking hard through blurry vision, your head rolled over to see the blazing red numbers on your alarm.  
7:45.  
You slammed your hand onto the blaring machine’s “Snooze” button and closed your eyes again.  
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!  
7:52.  
You hit it once more.  
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!  
Hadn’t you just rolled over? It couldn’t have been more than a minute since—  
8:05.  
“Yikes!”   
  
With a groan, you hit the alarm again, this time turning it off, and sat up with your feet off the end of the bed. Rubbing your face in your hands, you blinked hard, trying to wake yourself up before shuffling slowly toward the shower.  
After you had washed and changed clothes, you ate your usual bowl of cereal, trying to quell your anxieties as you chewed.  
_’You’ll be fine, f/n,’_  you told yourself,  _‘Just take deeeep breaths.’_  
Following your own advice, you breathed in and then sighed heavily, but it did little to ease the butterflies in your stomach.   
Finishing your breakfast, you grabbed your things and checking your makeup one last time, headed out the door, your clock now reading 8:47.   
  
You left the apartment complex, and were met with the warm summer air. It would be one of the last days like this, as you could already start to feel a slight crispness indicating autumn was coming soon.   
Pulling the crumpled piece of paper out of your back pocket, you unwrinkled the pages best you could to observe your schedule for the thirtieth time.   
  
**MW: 3D Art, Hanji Zoe, 9:00-11:00**  
**MW: Art History, Nanaba Zacharius, 12:00-1:15**  
**MWF: Algebra 1, Levi Ackerman, 1:30-2:30**  
**TR: Drawing, Moblit Berner, 11:00-1:00**  
  
Scanning the room numbers listed next to your classes, you mentally thought out your route for the day. The morning was simple enough—all the art classes were located in the same building, but it was your algebra class that worried you. It was on nearly the opposite side of campus, and you had been stressing about whether or not you’d be able to make it in time.  
Algebra 1 was definitely the class you had been looking forward to the least. It was a General Education requirement, but you hadn’t take a math course in almost two years now since you graduated high school. Math was by far your worst subject, and you were overcome with dread at the mere thought of equations and graphs.  
  
As you walked, you hardly watched where you were going, and nearly ran into several people as your face was stuck in the crumpled paper in your hands. Looking down yet another time at your schedule, (you were borderline obsessing over it now) you suddenly felt yourself being knocked back by some solid object in front of you.  
WHAM!  
“Ah!” you yelped, stumbling backwards on the sidewalk, hand rubbing your forehead.   
“Fucking brat.”  
You looked up, seeing now that the object you had struck was actually a man. He was holding his shoulder, rubbing it gently as he stared at you with a look that was anything but gentle. His grey eyes were piercing, and you could swear they cut straight through you into your soul.  
You tried to stutter out an apology.  
“I…I’m sor—”  
“Learn to pay attention.”   
Your eyes widened as the man shot you another contemptuous look before abruptly pushing past you and striding down the sidewalk, around a corner, and out of sight.   
  
You stared dumbfounded for a moment before collecting yourself and rolling your eyes.  
“Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed,” you muttered under your breath, before continuing your way to school.   
You arrived a few minutes later, the tall commercial buildings of downtown Trost replaced with brick ones boasting names of benefactors and donors to the University.   
Pulling out your campus map, you pointed yourself toward the art building. It was now 8:54, so you had to hurry. You groaned as you half walked, half-jogged toward your destination—you were almost always late to things.   
It wasn’t that you did it on purpose, you just never checked the time when you needed to be somewhere. Every semester in high school you had managed to rack up at least a dozen tardies or so.  
The art building’s doors were large and heavy, and you had to pull hard to pry them open. As you made your way down the white-walled hallways, you passed several students, most wearing black, and most sporting unique combinations of piercings and tattoos. You smiled faintly to yourself. You would fit in just fine here.   
  
“1024…1026…1028…” you murmured under your breath as you looked back to your schedule.  
“Room 1030.”   
Peering into the correct classroom, you saw every seat was filled except one. Trying to creep inconspicuously into the room, your plan failed immediately when the bespectacled woman at the front of the class looked up from her clipboard and said,  
“Ah, and would you happen to be…”   
She looked back at her papers, then back to you.   
“f/n l/n?”  
You smiled weakly, trying not to notice all the students now staring at you.  
“Yeah.”   
The woman—Professor Hanji Zoe—motioned for you to take a seat, which you did so quickly.  
  
“Excellent, excellent, you’re all here…” she set down her clipboard and grinned widely at the students.   
“I’m Professor Hanji Zoe, but please just call me ‘Hanji.’ I’ll be your 3D Art instructor. We’ll be doing several projects throughout the semester using a large array of materials, so be ready to learn a lot!”   
She clasped her hands together in delight, seemingly unhindered by the emotionless, tired faces of her students.   
“So! A little about me,” she continued, “I’ve been a sculpturist since I was oh…maybe three. Sandcastles, blocks, my mother’s best wine glasses…”  
She smiled cheekily.  
“But I started my professional career around age twenty five.”  
And that she had. All the art professors at Trost were well-regarded in their fields. You had always kept yourself in-the-know about the contemporary art world, and knew that Hanji Zoe took the world by storm when she started making her giant, crystallized sculptures of two almost figural sculptures. She had titled the pieces  _Sonny_  and  _Bean_.   
  
The rest of class was spent going over the syllabus. Hanji seemed like a pretty cool professor, and you really looked forward to the semester with her.  
“And remember,” she called after dismissing everyone for the day, “Come to next class with a household object to sculpt!”  
  
Your watch read 10:53 as you exited the room, meaning you had over an hour to spare until Art History.   
You decided to sit in one of the study areas. Finding one on the second floor, you chose a table in the corner of the lounge and got out your pens, pencils, and notebook.  
Flipping to find the most recent page, you revealed drawings upon drawings that you had done only over the past few months. You went through sketchbooks like nobody’s business.  
When you found the right page, you opened it to reveal a sketch of a rather terrifying creature. It was upright on two legs, naked, and appeared mostly human in nature, but was devoid of any reproductive parts. You had drawn several monsters like this before, and you started to work on refining the line work.  
  
“Hey, that looks awesome!”   
Snapping your head up, you furrowed your eyebrows at the short boy with a buzz cut standing right by your table. There was an auburn-haired girl snacking on a bag of potato chips behind him, chewing loudly.  
The boy stood with hands on his hips, looking stupidly confident as he grinned toothily at your drawing.   
“I can’t draw figures to save my life,” he said, rather loudly, and you cringed as several others in the room glanced your direction. You hated calling attention to yourself.   
The fact that you weren’t responding seemed to not to hinder him whatsoever.   
“You’re in our sculpture class, yeah? The one with Hanji?”  
You just nodded. You didn’t really remember any faces from that class, so you had to take his word for it.  
  
The boy now pulled up a chair next to you, uninvited, and the girl took one opposite of him.   
“The name’s Connie. Springer. And this is Sasha.” He gestured to the girl, who smiled with her mouth closed. You noticed potato chip crumbs sprinkled across her shirt.   
“f/n,” you finally offered, and started returning to your drawing.  
“So f/n,” Connie drawled, leaning back in his chair, head rested in his hands lazily, “What do you call that thing?”   
“Hmm?”   
“That thing,” he nodded toward your drawing.  
“Oh, this.” You shrugged. “I call it a Titan. It’s a part of a story I’m working on.”   
“What kind of story?” Sasha now spoke up, having finished her chips.   
You shrugged again, almost apologetically.   
“It’s nothing, really. Just an idea I had a while back wha—hey!”  
  
Connie suddenly snatched the sketchbook from you, and stared at it with his face only an inch from the paper. He squinted his eyes and scrunched his face to examine it better, then began flipping through some of your older drawings.  
Dumbstruck, you only stared as he impotently invaded your privacy.  
“These are amazing…you’re an Illustration major, yeah?”  
“Uh…yeah…” you stammered.  
“Lemme see!” Sasha reached for the sketchbook greedily.  
“No, you cow! You’ll get yer greasy fingers all over it!” Connie snapped.  
Sasha groaned, and slumped back in her seat. These two were something else.  
  
Your surprise now turned to anger, and you raised your voice at the boy.  
“I don’t remember saying you could look through that, you know!”   
Connie looked up at you, eyes wide, and you felt a twinge of guilt for yelling now.   
“Sorry,” you muttered.  
“Hey, don’t be,” he said, returning the sketchpad to its place in front of you, “I just got excited. I’m sorry. But you’re really good at drawing!”   
You finally gave him a half-hearted smirk.  
“Thanks.”  
  
“Hey Connie, we have to get to class,” Sasha started getting up, and her companion followed suit.  
“Wait, do you guys have Art History with Professor Zacharius next?” you asked, realizing it was about time for you to leave too.  
“Yeah!” Sasha said, “Do you want to sit with us?”   
“Yeah, sure.” You started packing your things, and then the three of you walked the short distance to the lecture room.  
  
***  
  
The class went fairly well. Professor Zacharius, who asked to be called by her first name, “Nanaba,” seemed nice enough. You knew her as a famous photographer, who, with her husband, ran a gallery in downtown Trost. Nanaba’s work was a stark contrast to her timid nature, and portrayed intimate, and often explicit images of her and her husband.   
  
You tapped your foot nervously as the queue of students filed out. Connie and Sasha had insisted on sitting in the back row, and you soon discovered it was so they could crack jokes about the artwork Nanaba talked about.  
“Seriously, you call yourself art majors?” you hissed as they suppressed giggles when another naked lady painting came around.  
“Art minors, mind you,” Connie grinned.  
But now you were stuck behind the crowd of students, and you glanced nervously at your watch. Twelve minutes to get to class.   
When the line finally cleared, you bolted.   
“See you guys later!” you called in afterthought to your new friends, waving without even looking back.   
  
You maintained a very brisk walking pace as you looked at your map once more, confirming that you were headed the right way.   
When the building came into sight, you picked up more speed, and arrived at the doors soon after.   
Rushing through the halls, you flew up the stairs to the third floor and started scanning the signs wildly to find the correct room.  
“3120…3122…”   
3124\. The door was closed. You looked at your watch and frowned. 1:32.  
Taking a deep breath, you opened the door, immediately met with a cold voice.  
“You’re late.”   
“I know, I’m sorry, I had cla—”  
You stopped mid-sentence, gasping as you recognized the stone-grey eyes of your professor staring right into yours.


	3. Chapter 3

You stood in the doorway, frozen in fear, for what seemed like an eternity. The cold eyes of your professor felt like they sliced through your very being, straight to the core.  
It was him, that asshole you bumped into earlier that morning.   
He now raised a pointed eyebrow, and you realized your mouth had been left open, grasping for words.  
  
“I…I’m sorry…” you stammered, “I h-had class and–”  
“Ms. l/n, is it?” his voice came out cold and emotionless, causing you to tense up even more.  
You nodded shakily.   
Turning to the rest of the class, the raven-haired man addressed them casually.  
“I don’t approve of lateness to my class. It’s disruptive and disrespectful. Let Ms. l/n here be an example to you all of what  _not_  to do.”   
He then turned to you, and jerked his head toward the seats.  
“Take a seat.”   
  
Without hesitation, you scurried toward the closest open desk you could find, ducking your head to avoid the gazes of your classmates.   
Your heart was still hammering, but you were finally able to let out a sigh of relief.  
“Now,” Professor Ackerman resumed, “Everyone take out the assigned textbook, a calculator, and a piece of paper.”   
The room grew noisy as students scrambled for their backpacks. Unzipping your own, you pulled out the thick book and plopped that, along with a calculator, and notebook onto your desk.   
  
Professor Ackerman waited for the rest of the class to finish, then spoke once more, silencing any extra noise.  
“Please turn to page seven. There’s a practice exam I’d like you all to take in order for me to evaluate where each of you land comprehension-wise. This will not count for a grade, but please do your best.”  
He raised an eyebrow, scanning the room carefully.  
“Any questions?”  
He was met with silence, and gave a curt nod.  
“Please begin.”  
  
The sound of pages being turned and pencils scrawling filled the room, and you followed suit, opening your book to the correct page.  
‘What the…’   
You furrowed your eyebrows anxiously at the first question.  
  
 _Expand and simplify (3x-6y)^2_  
  
It had been almost two years since you had taken a math class, and you were never that good at it to start with. Scanning the rest of the page, you realized none of the questions seemed answerable to you.  
Your eyes darted around the room to see you classmates scribbling furiously.  
‘Do they all know this??’ you thought in horror. ‘Am I just that stupid?’  
  
You were snapped out of your thoughts by the feeling of something poking your arm.  
Turning to your left, you saw a boy with disheveled brown hair and emerald green eyes pressing his pencil eraser into you.   
He was staring at you wide-eyed and you saw him point to your desk and silently mouth words.   
Not understanding what he was saying, you cocked your head to the side and gave a confused look.  
The boy’s eyes grew wider and more urgent as he pointed more intensely.  
Looking at your desk, you put a hand on your calculator, then back to the boy. He nodded earnestly then mouthed the words,   
‘Can I borrow it?’  
  
You thought about it for a moment.  
‘It’s not like it’s any use to me. I don’t know how to even start any of these questions…’  
Shrugging, you handed the device over to the boy, who smiled widely, mouthing a quick ‘thank you’ before returning to his own test.   
  
Sighing, you looked at your paper, only your name and the words “practice test,” and “1.” written on it so far.   
Slumping your head onto a propped hand, you began doodling mindlessly, tracing the familiar shapes of the long-haired thing you called a “Titan” onto your paper.  
It had been a story you had been working on for a little less than a year now. You were almost finished roughing out the basic design of the world the story was set in, but had far to go on characters and plot. You just weren’t that good at it. The characters you had tried to create were so flat and not believable.   
  
The sound of footsteps awoke you from your daydream and your eyes widened at recognizing the spotless black dress shoes next to you.  
Gulping, you lifted your head to meet the eyes of Professor Ackerman, who was raising an unamused eyebrow at you.   
His icy gray eyes bore into your e/c ones, making your heart begin to race again. He was the definition of intimidating, and you didn’t seem to be on his good side.  
For what felt like an eternity, he continued to stare at you, before flicking his eyes to your paper. Your gaze fell to it as well, and you suddenly felt embarrassed about the drawing.   
You sat there biting your lip anxiously, unsure of what to do, when he simply turned and walked away, leaving you staring at him wide-eyed.  
  
He returned to the front of the classroom and flipped through some papers in his hands.   
You sat still for a moment, then sheepishly looked back at the textbook, attempting to answer the questions to the best of your ability.   
During this time, you didn’t dare look up, too afraid that you’d see those stone-gray eyes again, beating down at you.  
  
Finally, once most people seemed to have finished, Professor Ackerman cleared his throat.  
“Any of you who are done, hand me your work and you’re free to go.”  
There was a bit of a clamor as students began packing their things and getting out of their seats, but you continued to work, nearly finished yourself.   
“Eren Yeager and f/n l/n, please stay after to speak with me.”   
  
You suddenly went rigid again. You don’t know why, but the sound of him speaking your name seemed almost scandalous to you, as if he had invaded your privacy in some way.   
‘What did he want now??’  
Scrawling a completely random answer for the last question, you looked up and realized only you and the brown-haired boy were left.  
Collecting your belongings and shoving them in your backpack, you approached the front of the room to Professor Ackerman. Eren, which seemed to be the name of the boy, followed behind.   
  
The raven-haired man took each of your papers, and raised yet another eyebrow at both of you, scanning your faces silently.  
“Mr. Yeager,” he said in a low tone, “Please be ready next class period, and do not disturb Ms. l/n for your unpreparedness.”   
Eren’s eyes widened for a moment, before he nodded his head earnestly.  
“Yes sir!”  
Professor Ackerman gave him a curt nod and Eren silently left the room.  
  
He then turned his attention to you, the very thing you were terrified of, and now you were completely alone with him.  
He remained silent for much longer than you wanted, but then did something that surprised you.  
His eyes softened.   
You weren’t sure of it at first, but after a second glance, they were discernably less intimidating than before.   
“Ms. l/n, I want to apologize for earlier…” he began.  
  
This time you were the one to raise your eyebrows, but in surprise.    
‘Is he talking about…?’  
“I had a rather stressful morning, and was very rude to you when you bumped into me. I am sorry.”   
You only blinked for a moment, caught off guard by his complete change of tone.  
“I…uh…I mean…” you stammered, words seeming to escape you.  
“It’s fine,” you finally mustered, not able to meet his gaze, but instead staring off into the distance.   
  
Professor Ackerman nodded.  
“Thank you. That is all.”  
You gave a quick nod in return, then hurried for the door, head down.  
Closing it behind you, you let out a long sigh and shook your head almost violently, unable to get his softened expression out of your mind.


	4. Chapter 4

You started making your way down the hall, still trying to rid your mind of everything that just happened.  
“Hey! Hey, wait up!”  
You spun around to see Eren running at you, waving your calculator in the air. Next to him was a girl of similar height with sleek, black hair, and gorgeous eyes. Wrapped around her neck was a deep red scarf.  
  
The boy reached you, and handed over your calculator, which you accepted with a small nod and shoved it into your backpack.   
When you continued your path to the exit, he followed.  
“Hey, sorry if I got you in trouble for lending a calculator! Did he yell at you too?” Eren spoke with a lot of enthusiasm, you noticed, while the girl next to him remained completely silent.  
“Uh…no, he didn’t yell…” you mumbled, “He just told me not to doodle on my test.”  
That was actually what you thought he was going to scold you for anyway, and were still surprised by his apology.   
  
“Aww, that’s too bad,” the boy frowned momentarily, but then almost immediately turned back to a wide grin.  
“My name’s Eren, by the way, and this is Mikasa!” he nudged the girl next to him, who gave a friendly smile.  
You nodded politely.  
“Nice to meet you. I’m f/n.”   
  
The three of you reached the double doors to the exit and proceeded through them to meet the crisp autumn air.   
You started heading left, toward your apartment, and the other two began moving to the right.  
“Well, see ya,” you said quietly as you parted ways, giving a small wave.  
Eren nodded, but suddenly whipped around to face you again.  
“Hey! Wait, before you go, you should give me your number!”  
You stopped and looked at him quizzically, making Eren fumble for words.  
“I mean…uh…you know, for studying and such!”  
You gave him a strange look, but proceeded to walk back toward him.  
Eren handed you his phone after opening a contact page, and you put in the correct information. You handed it back to him, and his face broke into another wide grin.  
“Great, thanks!”   
  
He started walking away again, but called over his shoulder.  
“See ya around f/n!”   
Eren looked down at the contact in his phone, smiling like an idiot.  
“You’re ridiculous,” Mikasa mumbled from behind her scarf.  
  
***   
  
Returning to your apartment, you dropped your bag in the front hall and proceeded to flop onto your bed.   
Closing your eyes for a moment, you wiped your face with your hands. It had already been a long day. You weren’t used to this level of social interaction with others, and with so many new people too…  
  
Opening your eyes, you pulled out your phone to see three new messages.  
  
**2:19 p.m. Unknown number: Hey this is eren!!**  
  
2:08 p.m. Erwin: Still good for dinner tonight?   
  
7:52 a.m. Erwin: Good luck on your first day f/n!  
  
You opened the chat with Erwin and responded:  
  
**f/n: Yep. See you tonight.**  
  
Putting your phone on the bedside table, you got up and went to your desk, resolving to draw for a while before you headed over to Erwin and Petra’s.   
Before you knew it, three hours had passed and your clock read 5:34.  
It never failed to amaze you how fast the time could pass when you were drawing.  
Grabbing your bag and a jacket, you left the apartment and headed out.  
  
***   
  
“f/n!”   
Petra opened the door before you had even made it up the porch steps, smiling warmly, arms outstretched. She looked quite the mess, wearing a sunflower patterned apron with various food stains streaked across it.  
You grinned, and made your way into the threshold to meet her hug.   
She squeezed you affectionately for a while and pulled back to look at you face to face, her amber eyes searching yours.  
“So? How was the first day?”   
  
You shrugged, taking off your jacket and shoes.  
“It was fine. Algebra kind of sucked, but art classes were good.”  
“f/n!!!!”   
You had just finished hanging your jacket up when something came crashing into your leg, wrapping itself around you.  
  
“Hey you silly goober!” you chuckled, ruffling Armin’s soft blond hair.   
The boy giggled in delight and clung harder to your leg like a monkey.  
“I’m going to go change,” Petra smiled, patting your shoulder before heading upstairs.   
Hobbling over to the kitchen, child attached, you found Erwin setting the table. You frowned upon seeing the place set for five.  
You were about to question it when the tall blond man turned and noticed you.   
“Ah! f/n!” Setting down his handful of utensils, he walked over and brought you in for a squeeze.  
“Oof!” you choked out. His bear hugs always caught you off guard.   
“You guys are really too much,” you mumbled amusedly, wriggling out of Erwin’s embrace. “I just saw you yesterday.”  
  
Erwin chuckled, and helped you pry Armin off your leg (to which he looked severely upset by), then lifted his son up and held him on his hip.   
“But you’re a whole new woman today, f/n,” he grinned, “You’re a  _college kid_  now.”   
You rolled your eyes and playfully punched him, before grabbing the forks and knives he had set down and finished his job of setting the table.  
  
“Who else is coming tonight, Erwin?” you suddenly remembered, seeing the fifth place set.  
“What’s that?” the blond man called distractedly as he set Armin down. “Here are the napkins buddy,” he said, handing a small stack to the boy, “Go help f/n set the table.”   
Armin nodded eagerly and set to the task.  
“Oh, right,” Erwin said, now directing his attention to you. “My old college friend just moved back into the city, so we invited him for dinner as well. I hope you don’t mind.”  
“Not a problem,” you shrugged, helping Armin arrange the napkins in nice triangles beneath the silverware.   
  
Bing!   
  
“Speak of the devil,” Erwin said amusedly, “That must be him.”  
You continued helping Armin as he went for the door. The two of you finished the last place setting when you heard the door open.  
“You made it!” Erwin cheered from the other room. “It’s great to see you.”   
His guest mumbled something, but you couldn’t quite make out what he said.  
  
“f/n! Armin! Come in here!” Erwin called.  
The little boy bounded into the other room and you followed behind slowly, shaking your head in amusement at his endless energy.  
Turning the corner into the front hall, you suddenly came to a dead stop.  
  
‘Oh. My. God.’  
Erwin gestured toward his guest, who had an equally horrified expression as you.  
“f/n, this is my friend, Levi.”


	5. Chapter 5

For what seemed like an eternity, the two of you stood there, neither one moving an inch.  
Erwin looked severely confused by this, whipping his head back and forth from you, back to Levi, trying to figure out what had happened.   
  
“Yay! Levi! Hehehe!” Armin suddenly bounded to the front door, hugging the raven-haired man around the leg as he had done to you.   
The man’s eyes grew to the size of saucers as he finally broke your gaze to see the little blond boy squeezing him.  
“A-Armin, don’t jump on Levi…” Erwin murmured quietly, reaching his hand out absentmindedly for his son.  
The boy frowned, but obediently listened to his father and unwrapped himself from around Levi, who could not have looked more relieved by this.    
  
Ushering Armin along into the kitchen, Erwin looked at the two of you carefully.  
“So, uh…I take it you two have met?”  
You swallowed, heart still beating madly, still shocked at who was standing in the doorway.  
“Yeah…” you finally mustered, “Um we’re…he’s–”  
  
“We ran into each other this morning.”  
You turned to Levi, surprised at his curt answer.  
Erwin nodded slowly.  
“I see…” he shifted his gaze to you.  
Not wanting to disagree with whatever story Levi had come up with, you nodded in agreement.  
‘Why didn’t he tell Erwin?’  
  
Erwin frowned slightly, then took one last glance at the two of you before grinning like a buffoon once more.   
“Well isn’t it a small world? Very good. F/n, will you go check the spaghetti sauce? Levi, please do come in.”   
You immediately turned and headed to the kitchen, not wanting to be in the presence of Professor Ackerman–or Levi, you supposed–any longer.   
  
Levi walked into the front hall, removing his jacket and placing it on the rack.   
Erwin gave him a soft slap on the back–something he had always hated, but never told him he did.  
“You made it just in time. Dinner’s about to be ready.”   
The blond man grinned, then looked up the stairs and called up.  
“Petra! Honey, Levi’s here!”   
“Be right down!”   
  
Levi made his way down the hall, then stopped to look at the family pictures hung on the walls.  
“How’d you two meet?” he inquired, inspecting one of the three of them at Disneyland.  
“She was working as a nurse at the hospital I was discharged to while on duty.”   
Erwin chuckled to himself.   
“She wasn’t too keen on me at first, but I knew from the moment I saw her I wanted to marry her.” He looked at the pictures as well now, admiring the one of he and Petra from their wedding day.   
  
He was distracted by the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs, and turned to see Petra, wearing a fitted cream sweater and dark, denim jeans.   
“Ah! And there she is! My beautiful bride!”   
Petra shot her husband a look of mock annoyance, then turned her attention to her guest.  
“Oh!” she exclaimed, caught off guard by his darkened appearance.   
She stared at him peculiarly for perhaps a little too long before catching herself.   
“Uh, yes,” she said, shaking her head and clearing her throat, “Levi, is it? So nice to meet you!”  
  
She gestured for the two men to enter the kitchen, smile returning to her face.  
“If you would please find a seat for dinner, that’d be wonderful.”   
  
***   
  
The sound of clinking silverware consumed the dining room for far longer than anyone wanted.   
You were fairly certain everyone could feel the awkward tension between you and Levi, which baffled Erwin and Petra to no end.   
  
“So, uh, Levi…” Petra said, wiping her mouth with a napkin daintily, “Erwin tells me you took a job at the University. How was your first day?”   
Levi set down his fork and paused a moment before answering.  
“It was…tolerable. Thank you for asking.”  
You swallowed. It almost felt like he was blaming you for the day’s inadequacy. Why did he make it sound like today was so terrible?   
  
“What classes are you teaching?” Erwin asked.   
“Two gen ed Algebra, and two upper-level Calculus courses.”   
 _A/N: General Education or “gen ed” for short, are basic classes in a range of topics required of its students at most Universities._  
“Ah, I see,” Erwin mused, “You always were a notch above the rest of us in math classes!”   
Levi nodded and returned to his plate.   
  
“Today was f/n’s first day of college as well!” Petra suddenly piped up, turning to look at you, nearly causing you to choke on your food.   
Flashing your eyes at her, you hoped she got the message to be quiet.  
She didn’t.  
  
“F/n, maybe Levi could help you with that Algebra class you didn’t like.”  
She winked playfully, clearly not noticing your face draining of all its color.   
You didn’t dare look at Levi at this moment, too terrified of the death glare he surely must have on his face.  
“I…didn’t say I didn’t like it…” you mumbled meekly.  
Petra grinned.  
“Right. I think your actual words were that it ‘sucked.’”  
  
You thought you might pass out right then and there.  
“Kinda…” you said weakly.  
“What’s that?” Petra said, moving her head closer to hear you.  
Your palms were sweating and suddenly the room seemed a little too bright…  
“I said…it kinda sucked…” you mumbled.  
  
WHAM!  
“Waaaaaah!!!!”   
“Oh! Armin!”   
Erwin and Levi both sprung from the table as milk suddenly started seeping onto the floor.   
  
Petra immediately sprung into action, running to the kitchen and grabbed some old towels to wipe up the spilled milk on the floor and table.  
Erwin did his best to calm down a hysterical Armin.  
“Armin, Armin, it’s  _okay_ , buddy,” he cooed, rubbing the boy’s back gently, “Look, mommy is almost done cleaning it up.”  
“B-b-but m-my mi-milk!” Armin sobbed, wiping his tears and snot on his shirt sleeve (to which Levi looked absolutely horrified by).   
“There’s more milk in the fridge,” Erwin reassured him.  
  
“I’ll get him some!”   
Without wasting a second, you got up, grabbed Armin’s plastic cup with dinosaurs on it, and ran to the kitchen.  
Leaning over the sink, you contemplated for a second whether you would hurl or not from what just happened.  
‘My  _first day_.’   
You shook your head, taking deep breaths to calm yourself down.   
‘My first day of college…what a mess…’  
  
You let out one more long sigh before opening the fridge door and pouring Armin’s milk.  
Returning to the dining room, the boy was seeming to calm down a bit now, and perked up more when you handed him a fresh cup.   
Erwin smiled, ruffling his son’s hair.  
“And what do we say, Armin?”  
The blond boy looked up at you with his big blue eyes, still fresh with tears.  
“Tank you f/n!”  
You smiled warmly.  
“You’re welcome buddy.”   
  
Turning your attention to his father, you spoke quietly.  
“Erwin, I’m not feeling too well. I think I’m gonna head out.” It wasn’t completely a lie. You felt pretty sick…  
He stood up from his kneeling position, frowning.  
“Are you sure? Do you need any medicine?”   
You nodded.  
“I’ll be fine. Sorry to leave so early though.”   
  
Erwin nodded slowly, a look of concern still etched across his face.   
“Okay, well…feel better.”  
You smiled assuredly at him, then crossed the room to say goodbye to Petra. Only after you hugged her, did you accidentally meet Levi’s gaze.  
His face had the most unreadable expression you’d ever seen. He looked simultaneously furious, indifferent, and even sad.  
  
Before you stared too long, you said a final goodbye, and shrugged into your jacket and shoes.  
‘Best not let this day get any worse than it already has,’ you thought miserably, as you closed the door behind yourself.


	6. Chapter 6

The rest of the week went by smoothly enough, you supposed. Your drawing class with Moblit seemed easy, even though the professor seemed scared of his own shadow.   
Wednesday rolled around, however, and you just barely made it to Algebra on time. You made it only seconds before the clocked turned to 1:30, but you were literally sweating and out of breath from it.   
Still, Professor Ackerman made no comment of your appearance, nor did he do anything to acknowledge the awkward encounter Monday night, which you were thankful for.   
What confused you, however, was how he seemed to completely ignore you altogether. Not once did he look at you, or even glance in your direction for that matter.   
You thought you might have imagined this at first, but come Friday, he again, didn’t make contact with you once.  
‘What’s up with that?’ you thought huffily, as you sat in your spot in the back of the class.   
  
The clocked turned to 2:28, and everyone began packing their things, however, Professor Ackerman still waited until exactly 2:30 before dismissing class.  
“Remember to have the questions 5-31 odds done by Monday!” he said in a slightly louder voice than usual as everyone shuffled out.  
  
You made your way down the hall and out the double doors, on your way home when a voice called behind you.  
“Hey! f/n! Wait!”   
You spun around, surprised to see Eren hurrying to catch you.   
The green-eyed boy swallowed as your head turned, your hair swishing through the air with such delicacy.   
He stopped in front of you, face resuming its usual grin.  
“What are you doing tonight?”  
  
The question caught you off guard.  
“Um, nothing,” you said tentatively. “Why?”  
Eren shrugged, trying to appear nonchalant.  
“There’s this party tonight at my friend’s place and I thought I’d see if you wanted to come?”   
You raised your eyebrows in surprise–no one had ever invited you to a party before.   
Biting your lip, you thought about it for a moment. You weren’t quite sure if you wanted to go, plus you didn’t know Eren that well in the first place…  
But then again, you didn’t ever go out much, this could be your chance to do something social.  
  
“Um, can I think about it?” you finally asked quietly.  
Eren nodded eagerly.  
“Yeah, yeah! Of course!” he started backtracking in the opposite direction, “I’ll text you later! Let me know!”   
He gave a friendly wave, and then was around the corner of the math building and out of sight, leaving you standing there, still trying to figure out what just happened.  
  
***  
  
You got back to your apartment, and as you walked through the door, felt the buzz of your phone going off in your bag.   
You pulled it out, checking the messages.   
  
 **2:51 p.m. Eren: So the party starts at 10. let me know if u wanna come and I’ll pick u up!  
  
2:26 p.m. Erwin: Hey f/n, I have a favor to ask. Could you call when you get a chance?**  
  
Setting your backpack up onto the dining table, you took a seat and found the contact to call Erwin.   
  
It rang a couple times before his booming voice came through with its usual cheery tone.  
“Hey f/n! How was class?”   
“It was fine. I only had Algebra today.”  
“Oh. Nice, nice…” Erwin said. “Well hey, listen, could you do me a favor?”  
“Of course. Whatsup?”  
“Petra and I had planned a date night for tomorrow but our babysitter just fell through–”  
“Say no more,” you interrupted with a small chuckle, “I’d be happy to watch him.”  
“Really? Oh, thank you so much f/n!” You had to laugh at just how excited Erwin sounded. You loved Armin, so it wasn’t really a hassle at all to watch him for the night.   
  
“Could you stop by around 5:30 tomorrow?”   
“Yeah, sure.”  
You recalled, just then, your text from Eren. What should you do? You hadn’t ever been to a party, so you had no idea what to expect…  
“Alright, I’ll see you then!” Erwin’s voice suddenly broke your train of thought.   
“Wha-Hey, wait, Erwin?” you stopped him, an idea coming to you.  
“Yeah, what is it?” he asked, sounding concerned.  
“Uhhh,” you paused a moment, trying to figure how you’d bring this up.   
“Uh… Erwin, you’ve…uh, you went to a lot of parties in college, right?”  
“What gives you that idea??” the man countered, almost aggressively.  
“My dad said so.”   
“Oh…right.”   
  
A silence ensued for a moment, and you hoped Erwin wasn’t mad.   
Suddenly, he let out a deep, booming belly-laugh, which was not what you were expecting at all.  
“Ha! Ha! Ha! You’re telling me Miss  _f/n l/n_  is going to a  _college party?_ ”  
He continued laughing, leaving you unsure how to respond.   
Why did he think that was so funny?  
Erwin collected himself finally, but you could still hear the laughter in his voice when he spoke.  
“So who are you going with?”  
“This guy from class asked me.”  
  
Erwin was silent for a second.  
“…A guy?”  
You rolled your eyes.  
“Yes, a guy, Erwin. He’s just a friend. He’s not really my type.”  
“That’s what they all say…”  
“Oh shut up!” you snapped, only half joking.  
“Alright, alright,” Erwin chuckled, “So when is the party?”  
“It’s tonight, but I haven’t decided if I’m going or not!” you said, slightly annoyed. “I just…don’t know what to expect.”   
  
Erwin was silent for a bit, contemplating what to say next.  
“Well,” he finally said, “You’re a smart girl, don’t let anyone pressure you into something you don’t want to do.”  
You frowned.   
“Erwin, aren’t you supposed to be telling me  _not_  to go to parties?”  
He chuckled.  
“I suppose so. But if I’m completely honest, I think your parents wouldn’t have been too upset about you going to a party either. They were always concerned about you making friends, and to see you going out and doing something social would’ve excited them.”   
“I see…” you said, almost to yourself.   
“Look, it’s really up to you. I trust your judgement, and you should too. You can call or text me anytime, I’ll stay up.”   
  
You didn’t say anything for a moment, still contemplating, but feeling more empowered.   
“f/n?” Erwin asked after a few seconds, making sure you were still there.  
“I think I’ll go,” you said, finding yourself smiling a bit, “Thanks Erwin.”  
“Anytime, kiddo. We’ll see you tomorrow.”   
  
You pressed the “end call” button, and stared at your phone screen for a moment. Taking a deep breath, you opened the chat with Eren and replied:  
  
 **Okay, I’ll come.**


	7. Chapter 7

You climbed into the passenger seat of Eren’s SUV, sitting on your hands to keep them warm. The clock on the dashboard read 10:12, which you hated to admit was when you usually went to bed.  
“How are you?” asked Eren.  
“Oh, I’m fine,” you said quietly, trying to not appear as on edge as you were.  
Eren put the vehicle into drive, and the two of you sat in silence for a while.   
  
Sensing you were nervous, he tried to relieve the tension.  
“Have you started the homework for Professor Ackerman’s class yet?”   
“Nope,” you said mildly, now bouncing your leg anxiously.   
“Yeah, me neither,” Eren responded, returning to concentrating on the road ahead of him.  
  
Another long pause ensued. Eren made a turn onto a smaller street.  
“We’re almost there. It’s not far at all.”   
You nodded, still trying to calm yourself down.   
He turned onto another side street, and you could now hear the dull roar of music coming from a house at the end of it. Cars were lined along the curbs, and you could see many other students (several already drunk) making their way to the house.  
Eren pulled off to the side of the road and parked.  
“We’re here.”   
  
You nodded again, your heart now beating wildly.   
Eren put the car in park while you managed to unbuckle your seatbelt.   
The two of you each stepped out of the vehicle, but while Eren started making his way toward the house, you hesitated.   
  
He looked back, thinking you were following him, and was surprised to see you still by the car, looking off to the distance and fidgeting with your shirt sleeves.  
“f/n?” he called curiously, now walking back to you.   
You gave him a weak smile.   
“You can uh…go ahead without me. I’ll catch up.”  
You made a shooing motion, trying to usher him away, but he only stared at you strangely.  
  
“f/n,” he said, now right by your side, “Are you alright?”   
He stared at you in concern, those big, emerald eyes searching yours.  
You finally sighed shrugging your shoulders in defeat.  
“It’s just…I’ve never been to a party,” you mumbled in embarrassment. “I guess I’m a little nervous.”   
  
Eren studied you carefully for a moment.  
“Look, we don’t have to go if you don’t want to…”  
“No, I want to,” you interrupted, sticking your tongue in your cheek. Why was this so difficult for you? Why couldn’t you just calm down already?  
Eren nodded slowly.  
“Well, just stick with me. I won’t let anything happen to you!”  
He grinned toothily, jerking his head toward the house.   
  
You sighed, and retuned the smile, and started walking with him toward the source of the music.   
“Thanks Eren. You’re a good friend.”  
  
***   
  
“Eren! Heeeey! Good to see you!”   
A boy with dusty brown hair squeezed his way past a group of people as you and Eren walked into the house.  
The music was much louder now, so loud that you could hardly hear Eren shout.  
“You must be drunk, Jean, cuz I know you’re not happy to see me!”   
The horse-faced boy made a face indicating he thought Eren was being ridiculous.  
“Whaaaat? Why would I not–whoa!”   
He suddenly stumbled…over nothing, and caught himself just in time to not fall into you.  
  
Noticing Eren’s guest, he scanned you once over.  
“Whoaaa, hello,” he said, grinning like an idiot at you.  
You gave him a half-hearted, unamused smirk back.   
“Eren!” he said, now leaning on the boy’s shoulder for support. “She’s not your  _girlfriend_  is she?”   
The emerald-eyed boy shook his head furiously, face turning beat red.  
“N-no! We’re just friends! S-stop being such an idiot, Jean!”   
  
Jean wasn’t listening, however, as his attention was now back to you. He leaned over until his face was uncomfortably close to yours and spoke into your ear, causing you to immediately tense up.  
“You’re waaaaay too pretty to be with moron anyway.”   
He stood up straight again, and slapped Eren on the shoulder, causing him to wince a bit.  
“Enjoy the party, ya moron.”   
He then winked at you, and then turned and disappeared into the crowd.  
  
“Was that…the host?” you asked, dumbfounded.  
“…Yeah,” Eren said, almost embarrassed.  
“I thought you said he was a friend of yours.” You turned and looked at him curiously, and he returned your gaze with an amused look on his face.  
“Not exactly…”  
He grinned.  
“But he throws good parties, so I put up with him.”   
You laughed, causing Eren to smile even wider.  
“C’mon, let’s go find my  _actual_  friends.”   
  
Eren then grabbed you by the wrist, and led you down the hall.   
You walked past kids that were all…very loud, and seeming to have a good time. To be honest, you felt pretty secure. No one was really paying you any attention, and everyone was just having a good time.   
You felt yourself relax a little as Eren led you into what appeared to be a hangout space. There were several people hanging around, and four individuals lounging on the couches, which is who he began walking towards.  
“Hey guys!” he called, and the four people turned to see the two of you approach.  
  
“f/n, this is Connie, Sasha, Marco, and you’ve already met Mikasa.”  
“Actually,” you said, laughing, “I’ve already met these two as well!” You gestured to Connie and Sasha, who both had big grins on their faces.  
“f/n!” Connie cheered.   
“Why weren’t you two in class yesterday?” you asked, recalling how you sat through Nanaba’s lecture alone.  
“We offehslemph!” Sasha chided, mouth full of food.  
When you gave her a quizzical look, she took a moment to swallow, then repeated,  
“We overslept!”   
  
You laughed.  
“But the class is at noon!”   
Connie cocked his head to the side, now giving you a quizzical look.  
“Yeah? And what’s your point?”  
You grinned, and shook your head in amusement. These two were something else.   
  
Mikasa got up and walked past you, giving a curt nod and small smile as she did, which you returned with a smile of your own.  
The boy you didn’t recognize now approached.   
He was a handsome guy, with short, black hair, and freckles sprinkled across his cheeks and nose.   
He grinned, the corners of his eyes crinkling kindly, and extended a hand.  
“I’m Marco! It’s nice to meet you!”   
You smiled as well, and shook his hand firmly.  
“Nice to meet you too. I’m f/n.”   
  
Marco was about to say something, when suddenly Connie interjected.  
“Are we just gonna sit here all night? Let’s get partying people!!”  
  
***   
  
It was surprising how little time it took until you to feel comfortable around Eren’s friends. They were all so friendly, that before you knew it, you were drinking and dancing without a care in the world.   
In fact, you might have had  _too_  little cares, because you were soon overcome in a happy, cloudy haze of drunkenness.   
You hadn't really meant to get drunk at all, but after your first half of a beer, your sense of right and wrong got a little fuzzy.  
Besides, it had been so long since you felt this relaxed, and you relished in it.  
  
Eren and the others were also in similar states of mind, and the six of you spent a large part of the night dancing your asses off and acting like fools. Connie and Sasha had some particularly strange dance moves that seemed like a mix of karate and bird imitation.   
After a while, the six of you got pretty tired and decided to hang out on the couches again.   
  
Flopping onto the sofa between Connie and Eren, you realized just how out of it you were. The room seemed to be spinning slightly, and you couldn’t really focus on anything too clearly at the moment.   
“…game…truth…guys?”   
You looked over at Connie, seeing his mouth moving, but not fully comprehending what he was saying.   
Everyone seemed to agree with whatever he said, however, and they turned to look at you, confusing you even more.  
  
“How’s that sound, f/n?” Eren asked, nudging you in the side.  
“Wha-huh?” you asked, blinking hard to concentrate.  
“Truth or dare? Wanna play?”  
You blinked a couple more times, then shrugged.  
“Pshyeaah…soundssss good.”   
You gave two thumbs up and a cheeky grin.  
Eren laughed a little, and Connie sat up in his seat, pointing straight at Marco.  
  
“Marco!” he said, a little too loudly, “Truth or dare?”   
The freckled boy looked shocked at being called on, then grinned widely.  
“Truth!” he chimed.   
“Awright,” Connie smirked mischievously, rubbing his hands together like he was plotting how to take over the world, “Are you a virgin?”   
Some people snickered at this, as Marco’s face turned red. His eyes grew wide and he looked quite nervous.   
“Uh…” he said quietly, “Um…”  
“Answer me, boy!” Connie yelled, giving him a teasing stink eye.  
“Um…no?” Marco squeaked, almost like a question.   
  
Sasha nearly spit out her food, turning to look Marco straight in the face.   
“Liar!” Connie shouted, pointing an accusing finger at his poor victim.  
“No, no! I’m not lying you guys!” Marco put his hands up, getting more and more frazzled by the second.   
“Then who was it??” Connie yelled, getting even louder.   
“I’m not telling!”   
“Then you’re a liar!”   
  
“Guys, guys!” Sasha waved her hands wildly in the air, trying to catch the boys’ attention. She ate another mouthful of crackers before continuing.   
“Just shut up already! He answered the question. Moving on. Marco, it’s your turn.”  
The boy nodded, seemingly thankful the attention was no longer on him.  
“Hmmm,” he said, stroking his chin playfully as he looked around the room.  
“How about…Mikasa?”   
  
The girl was huddled against the wall, hugging her knees so she was sitting like a ball. When her name was called, she peered up from behind the cover of her scarf.  
“Truth, please.”  
“Awww, you guys are so boring…” Connie feigned yawning, and you elbowed him in the side to shut him up.  
  
“Mikasa, would you ever do a professor?”   
She looked absolutely disgusted by Marco’s question.  
“No,” she scoffed, wrinkling her nose at the thought.  
  
“Issit just me…or does Misaka not look drunk?” you slurred in Eren’s direction.  
He laughed, then explained, “Nah, she doesn’t get drunk.”  
‘Doesn’t get drunk?’ you thought to yourself, eyes widening, ‘How could she miss out on this,  _this feeling?_ ’  
  
“f/n?”   
“Whaaa?” you looked around the room to see who said your name. Mikasa raised her hand to indicate it was her who spoke.   
“Truth or dare?”   
“Umm…” you looked in the air thoughtfully, as if you couldn’t decide, then smiled.  
“Truth.”  
Connie groaned, but you ignored him.  
  
Mikasa smirked.  
“Same question as Marco’s.”   
“What question?” you asked, already foretting.  
“Would you do a professor?”   
You scrunched your face, trying to really think about your answer.  
“Nope,” you decided on. “No, I don’t think so.”   
  
“What about Professor Ackerman?”   
You whipped your head around to see Eren giving you the stupidest look imaginable.   
“No! Fuck that guy!” you scoffed, getting a little angry. “Why would you even think that Eren?”  
Your attention was then turned to Mikasa, who was now uncharacteristically giggling.  
She then answered your question for Eren, nearly causing your heart to stop.  
  
“Because he totally wants to do you!”


	8. Chapter 8

o one said a word as you stared at Mikasa with wide eyes.  
That is…until Connie and Sasha burst out laughing.  
  
“Hahahaha!!” Connie sniggered, punching you playfully in the side, “You and a  _professor_? I really underestimated you, l/n!”  
“I juss said, I would never do a proseffor, you twat!” you yelled, giving the giggling idiot a hard shove.   
  
“Miksha!” you said, turning your attention back to her, “What the hell do ya mean?”  
The girl looked kind of amused for once, her eyes twinkling.   
“You haven’t noticed? He’s  _always_  staring at you in class.”   
You furrowed you eyebrows, not quite sure you heard her correctly.  
“He…stares at me?” you repeated, “No he doesn’t!”  
She rolled her eyes.  
“Yes, he does, you’re just never paying attention because you’re too busy doodling in class.”  
  
You let this sink in for a second, leaning back into the couch. Your head was still spinning from the alcohol, however, so it was impossible for you to really concentrate.   
“I just…he’s not…” you sputtered, trying to think of a comeback.   
“Look,” Mikasa shrugged, “You can choose to believe me or not, it doesn’t matter to me. But I’ve seen him look at you, and seen  _how_  he looks at you, so I think he’s totally into you.”   
“But…but…”   
You had no words, nothing to say at all to this news.  
‘This just…can’t be true, can it? Professor  _Ackerman_?’  
You suddenly shook your head, realizing something.   
Even if it was true, and he was interested in you, what did it matter? It’s not like you wanted to be with him! Not grumpy, mean Professor Ackerman.   
So why bother worrying about this?  
  
“Moving on!” you announced, and whipped your head to look at Connie with a mischievous grin.  
“Truth errr dare, Connie?”  
He smirked.  
“Dare!”   
“I dare ya…” scanning the room, an idea struck you. “I dare you tah twerk in front of thosssse girls over there.”  
You indicated to the gorgeous blond and brunette pair of girls that you had seen Connie eyeing at all night.   
  
He groaned.   
“Twerking? C’mon l/n, that’s so 2014…”  
“That’sss the point, and I’m nots finished.”   
You made an evil smile, satisfied to see Connie actually look nervous.  
“What else?” he asked cautiously.  
“You have to do it…only in yerr underwear.”   
  
“f/n!” Connie roared, as everyone else erupted in laughter.   
“C’mon Connie,” Eren teased, “You said this night was getting boring…spice it up a bit!”   
The victim of everyone’s mockery groaned again, clearly angry.  
“Fine,” he snapped, “Fine, fine, FINE! I’ll do this stupid dare!”   
With that, he started yanking on his t-shirt, pulling it off in one angry tug, then quickly removed his trousers as well, kicking off his socks and shoes at the same time.   
Everyone else was trying to contain their laughter as he was now standing only in his boxers.   
  
Others around the room were staring as well, including the two girls Connie was supposed to dance for.  
“Alright Connie, it’s show time!” Sasha giggled, giving him a little shove, to which he returned with a glare.  
He started shuffling over to the two girls (to their horror), silently, and with his head down. When he was only a couple feet away from them, he slowly turned around, squatted, and…  
  
“HA! HA! HAHA! HA!”   
The remaining five of you erupted in laughter, shamelessly pointing and mocking Connie as he shook his rear end.  
The blonde girl watched in horror, eyes wide open, until the brunette rushed over and covered her eyes.  
“Don’t watch this freak show, Krista!” she screamed, glaring at Connie in disgust.   
“Hey scumbag!” she barked, causing Connie to stop and turn around to face her. She was considerably taller than him, with a dark, caramel complexion and piercing eyes.  
“Stop tormenting me and my precious Krista!” she snarled, jabbing her finger into his chest in reproach.  
  
As this you watched this happen, you had another idea.  
“Guys,” you whispered, and everyone turned to look at you pointing at the pile of clothes on the floor.  
Everyone smiled in unison, the same thought occurring to them.  
Grabbing the pile, the five of you bolted down the hallway.  
“Okay! Dare’s over Connie!” Sasha yelled behind her.  
  
There was no reply for a few seconds, then suddenly…  
“DAMMIT YOU GUYS!!”   
Connie appeared, running down the hall after you with a look of fury.  
“Run! RUN!” Eren yelled, and you all bolted into the kitchen, and then to the front entrance, laughing hysterically as you went.   
“Give me back my clothes!” Connie screamed as you grabbed the door knob and raced out onto the front lawn, the others close behind.   
  
As you started running toward the street, you suddenly felt everything around you start to spin, and you finally realized just how drunk you were.  
You took another few steps forward and the spinning worsened. The ground looked like it was turning upside down now…and then you hit it.  
“Hey,” you called softly, trying to catch everyone’s attention. You could hear them laughing…they seemed to be running farther away. Or wait, no, they were right next to you.  
You slapped your hand around aimlessly, and felt the soft grass beneath you.   
Your eyelids started feeling heavy now, and you struggled to keep them open.  
The struggle didn’t last long however, because seconds later you succumbed to the pull of sleep.   
  
***   
  
The bright streams of sunlight pouring into your room was what woke you the next morning.   
Groaning, you rolled over and pulled your sheets over your head, trying to block out the blinding rays.  
You lay there, huddled under the covers, when you noticed the dull throbbing sensation in your head.  
“What the…”   
You moaned then, as the throbbing got significantly worse the second you spoke.  
“Oh my god, what is this headache?” you whined.   
  
Realizing sleep was no longer an option, you threw off the blankets and sat up with your feet dangling off the side of your bed.  
Your mind was still clearing as you rubbed your temples gingerly, as if you could massage the memories back into you.  
“I went…” you mumbled, trying to piece things together. “…with Eren….”   
“Went with me where?”   
“Gaaaah!”   
  
You suddenly flailed your arms wildly at the sound of someone talking, and looked up to see none other than Eren standing in your bedroom doorway. He was wearing last night’s clothes and his hair looked a mess.  
You immediately returned to massaging your forehead.  
“Eren,” you moaned, in a much quieter voice, “What are you doing here?”   
He yawned and rubbed one eye, clearly still waking up himself.  
“You were really out of it last night,” he explained, “So Mikasa and I stayed the night to make sure you were okay.”   
“Mikasa?” you repeated.  
“Yeah?”  
The sound of the girl’s voice could be heard from your living room.  
  
You groaned.  
“I’m sorry guys. I didn’t mean to be such a burden.”   
“It’s really no big deal. We’ve done this for Connie and Sasha before too.”   
Eren shrugged.  
“Besides, we got to know you a lot better last night…”  
You looked up to see him flashing a devilish smirk and rolled your eyes.  
  
“What happened last night?”  
“What do you remember?”  
You closed your eyes a second, trying to reimagine the events that occurred.  
“I remember…Connie twerking…wait, no. I remember us stealing his clothes, and then I think I passed out in the grass.”   
  
Eren nodded.  
“Things really started dying down after that. We got you in the car to go home, and then Sasha started throwing up, so everyone just kind of left. I think some of us went too hard since it was the first party of the school year.”   
“That’s it?”  
“Well…”  
Eren started looking around the room, clearly trying to put off speaking more.  
“Eren,” you stated.   
“Yeah so…” he sighed. “Just look at your arms.”  
  
You furrowed your eyebrows. Your arms?  
Doing as asked, you tugged on the hood of your sweatshirt so you were left in your t-shirt.  
“Oh my god,” you gasped.  
“Yeah…so…Connie did that,” Eren sighed.   
  
In jet black ink, written in thick, bold lettering were the words “Fuck Professor Ackerman” on your left arm, and “Professor Ackerman, fuck me” on the right.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HEY! so....I accidentally poster Chapter 10, BEFORE Chapter 9. Everything is in the right order now, but you'll have to go back and read THIS chapter now. I'm so sorry for the mistake!!!

You sat there staring at the jet black ink on your arms in horror, then immediately licked your hand and started rubbing at it.  
“We already tried washing it,” you heard Eren say, but you kept rubbing. You needed to get these words, these terrible, terrible words off your skin.   
“What the fuck?” you hissed. “It’s not coming off!”  
“Yeah, he used one of his permanent artist markers of some sort. It should come off eventually, but it will take a while to fade…” Eren said quietly.  
  
“How did this happen??” you asked, giving up in exasperation.   
Eren frowned.  
“Connie was really angry–he can get that way when he’s drunk–and after he got his clothes back he wanted to get revenge on you and…well…” he gestured to your arm.  
“We _thought_ he was helping you get into my car while we helped Sasha…” Eren continued. “To be fair, he _did_ get you buckled in just fine, but…he took it a little far.”  
  
“Oh my god,” you moaned, rubbing your temples. What a morning it had been already.   
Eren cleared his throat, and you looked back up at him.  
“Hey, sorry to be like this, but Mikasa and I have somewhere to be in an hour…”  
You shook your head, and made a shooing motion.  
“Yeah, no, please go,” you smiled weakly, “Thanks for everything.”  
Eren nodded, and lingered a second longer, observing you as you returned to massaging your forehead yet again, before finding his keys and heading out the door, Mikasa right behind him.  
  
***   
  
The air was cool and crisp as you made your way toward Erwin and Petra’s later that evening. Normally, you would’ve enjoyed the pre-autumn weather, but today you were too preoccupied with the still-present hangover.   
You felt a buzzing in your purse, and opened it up to dig for your phone.  
“Hello?”  
“f/n? This is Erwin.”  
You flinched slightly as Erwin’s loud voice came through.   
“Yeah hey Erwin,” you said, “Sorry I’m running a tad late. I’ll be there in less than two minutes though.”   
“Oh, okay. Was just checking to see if you’re alright. See you in a bit.”  
  
He hung up, and you threw the phone back in your purse.  
You pulled on the sleeves of your jacket, and was reminded of the stupid markings Connie had left on them: “Fuck Professor Ackerman,” “Professor Ackerman, fuck me.”   
“Fuck you, Connie,” you muttered under your breath.   
  
You arrived at their front door a minute later, and let yourself in.   
“f/n!” You heard the familiar squeal of the toddler as he came running to meet you.  
“Hey Armin,” you said, trying to sound enthusiastic as he came crashing into your leg for a hug.  
Erwin then appeared in the hallway, adjusting his emerald green tie.  
“Ah, there you are,” he said with a smile, and reached past you for his jacket.  
“There’s a twenty on the kitchen counter, so feel free to order takeout. We shouldn’t be any later than ten.”  
You nodded, and carefully tried to pry Armin off your leg, to no avail.  
“Petra! You ready?” Erwin called behind himself, causing you to flinch at the noise, which he took note of.  
  
“Are you okay f/n? You look kind of….tired.”  
“Thanks Erwin,” you grumbled.  
He took a step forward, and pulled Armin off you, shooing him along into the family room.  
“Did you go to that party last night?”   
You nodded, to which Erwin slowly smiled.  
“Ha ha! f/n’s first hangover!”  
“Erwin…” you moaned, “Quieter, please.”  
He grinned.  
“Well, there’s medicine in the kitchen cabinet if you need, and make sure to keep drinking water tonight.”  
“What does she need medicine for?”  
  
Erwin turned around to see Petra appear behind him, wearing a navy blue dress that hugged her body down her curves.   
He smiled, not skipping a beat.  
“f/n just has a headache, that’s all dear.”  
He took a moment to behold his wife.  
“Wow! You look fantastic!”   
  
Petra smiled a bit, then started toward the door.  
“Thank you for doing this, f/n,” she said sweetly, putting a hand on your shoulder.  
Erwin patted your back as well, then followed his wife to the front door.  
“Armin! Wanna say goodbye?” he called.  
“I’m busy!” came a shriek from the other room.  
Erwin shook his head.   
“That kid....I swear…”  
“Erwin let’s go, we’re going to be late!”   
The blond man took one last gaze at you.  
“Remember, _drink water_ ,” he said with an accusing finger, then waved and closed the door shut.  
  
You waited at the front window to wave goodbye as they pulled out the driveway, then headed into the family room to find Armin.  
“f/n! f/n! Play with me! Yay!” he squealed the second you walked in.  
He was playing with blocks, and had formed a giant, circular wall with them around his action figures.  
“I’m playing your game f/n!” he said, as he made an action figure go out and attack the giant Godzilla figure he had placed outside the walls.  
You smirked, actually quite amused he had remembered the game.  
“Not right now buddy,” you said, “How about we watch a movie?”  
  
Armin’s eyes lit up.  
“Can we make a fort??”  
“After you clean up you toys,” you countered.  
Immediately, he sprung into action, throwing all the toys as fast as he could into the toy bin.   
Once he was finished, you helped him assemble a fort from the couch cushions and some blankets.  
  
“I’m going to order a pizza, so how about you pick out the movie?”  
“Okay!” Armin squealed with delight, now safely tucked in the confines of his fort.  
  
***   
  
About half an hour into watching The Little Mermaid (for some reason, this was Armin’s favorite movie), the doorbell rang.  
You got up and opened the door for the pizza delivery guy.   
After paying, you called, “Armin, pause the movie, pizza is here!”   
Going into the kitchen, you set down the steaming box and opened to reveal a half-cheese, half-(fave/pizza).  
“Ooooh pizza!”   
Armin was clearly pleased as he tottered into the kitchen.   
  
“What do you want to drink?” you asked.  
“Milk!”   
You should’ve guessed–it was his favorite.   
You poured his milk into a plastic cup, then a glass of water for yourself.   
Setting the two on the table, you went to grab plates as Armin scrambled onto his chair.   
Seconds later, however, you suddenly heard a “thud!” and Armin cry out.  
  
“Armin!” you gasped, whipping your head around to see the boy falling off his chair toward the hard floor.  
Without thinking, you threw yourself onto the floor, just in time to catch Armin’s head. As he fell, his hand whacked the two glasses, and they came crashing toward you.  
The plastic cup of milk hit first, dowsing your upper half in the cold liquid, then the glass of water.  
You flung your arm up to deflect the blow, and yelled out in pain as it smacked you in the forearm, breaking into several pieces.   
  
The deed being done, you now lay on the floor of the kitchen, Armin screaming in your arms, doused in a puddle of milk and water…when you heard the doorbell ring.  
You groaned loudly, not sure what to do. You shoved Armin off your arm, and held him in a hug, hoping whoever was at the door would leave.  
  
Ding dong!  
Then three knocks on the door.  
You grumbled a bit, then got yourself up, your feet getting soaked from the mess on the floor, and carefully made your way to the front door.  
“Armin, just wait a moment and I’ll clean you up!” you called behind yourself, and grasped the metal knob and turned.  
Opening it slowly, you just about fainted on the spot as you revealed none other than Levi standing there.


	10. Chapter 10

It felt like the first day of class all over again, as you stood there, frozen in your place, staring at the emotionless Professor Ackerman.  
“Uh…” you tried to speak but couldn’t.  
He stared at you, eyebrows lowering slightly at your unsightly appearance.  
“Is Erwin or Petra around?” he asked.  
“Umm…they…uh…” you continued to stutter.  
  
“Waaaaaah! f/n!!”  
  
A scream suddenly came from the kitchen, and you looked behind you, then back to Professor Ackerman.  
“Sorry, this is a really bad time…” you mumbled, and ran back into the kitchen, leaving him standing in the doorway.  
“Armin! I’m here!” you said, and picked the crying toddler up off the floor from the puddle of milk.  
“M-m-my m-miiiilk!” he screeched, causing your forehead to practically explode.  
“We’ll get some more milk, just let me clean you up first!”  
  
You turned around to bring Armin to the bathroom.  
“Oh my god!” you gasped suddenly, as Professor Ackerman was right behind you, staring at the mess with eyebrows raised.  
“You…you scared me,” you said, clutching your heart.  
He didn’t respond, and you didn’t know what else to say.  
“I…uh, gotta clean him up. Be right back…”  
You took one last glance at the man, still not hardly believing he was there, before continuing your path to the bathroom.  
  
As you got Armin washed off and changed, you couldn’t manage to calm yourself down.  
‘What is he doing here??’ you thought, heart racing.  
Your head was spinning.  
Was he angry? You couldn’t read his expressions too well at all.  
You took a deep breath, helping Armin into a fresh shirt. He was sniffling now, his face red from crying, but he was definitely calmed down, unlike you.  
“How about you go and keep watching the movie, and I’ll bring you your pizza and milk?” you said softly, brushing his soft blond hair.  
“Okay f/n,” he said obediently, and hopped off the bathroom counter and toddled off.  
You sighed, and took a few deep breaths before heading back into the kitchen.  
Where Professor Ackerman was…  
  
You turned the corner down the hall, then stopped dead in your tracks at the kitchen’s entrance.  
“What the…”  
It was spotless.  
The milk had been all cleaned, the broken glass gone, and the dining table seats were even straightened.  
It was then that you noticed Professor Ackerman there, looking around the kitchen counters.  
“You did this?” you said quietly, and he turned his attention to you. His piercing grey eyes locked onto yours for a moment, making your breath catch in your throat.  
  
He nodded, then returned to looking.  
“I lost my phone here last night,” he said, acting as if his act of kindness was nothing.  
You didn’t react for a moment, still slightly in shock over the clean kitchen.  
Then, realizing what he said, you shook your head, and grabbed the wall phone.  
  
“Um, do you want to try calling it?” you said, tentatively reaching the phone out to him.  
He looked up, and nodded, accepting it.  
As you handed the phone, his fingers brushed over yours slightly, and you couldn’t help but shudder at the feeling of them so lightly touch your skin.  
‘Why does everything he do make me feel so nervous??’ you thought to yourself.  
“Thanks,” he said, in his usual, low tone.  
He punched in the numbers and then hit ‘call.’ The two of you waited a moment, and listened carefully.  
The sound of Armin’s movie could be faintly heard in the other room, and then…  
  
Bzzz. Bzzz. Bzzz.  
  
You started following the sound of the vibrating phone, Professor Ackerman following closely behind. It led you up the stairs, down the hall, and then into Erwin and Petra’s room.  
You frowned.  
“Were you in here at all yesterday?” you asked.  
He shook his head, eyebrows furrowed as well.  
“No.”  
  
The sound was coming from the bedside table, which had Petra’s things neatly placed on it.  
Opening the drawer, your frown deepened as you had to dig through a few odd papers and knick knacks, finally pulling out the buzzing phone.  
You turned, and handed it to Levi.  
“What was it doing there?” he asked.  
You threw up your shoulders, quite baffled yourself.  
“I guess maybe Armin found it and hid it there,” you offered. But that still didn’t seem right. Armin knew better than to get into his mommy and daddy’s things.  
  
Professor Ackerman nodded, then suddenly frowned.  
“You’re bleeding,” he said, taking a step closer and reaching toward your arm.  
You instinctively recoiled at his advances, but winced as a sharp pain hit you.  
“Ah!” you hissed. The glass of water must’ve caught in your arm when it hit you.  
“Let me take a look at it, f/n…” he insisted, still trying to get a hold of you.  
You shook your head furiously.  
“No, I can handle it, I swear–ouch!”  
A shard of glass dug deeper into your forearm, and now the blood began seeping through your wet jacket even faster.  
  
As you were distracted by the pain, Professor Ackerman took the opportunity, and grabbed you by the upper arm, pulling you toward him slightly.  
“Hey, I said I could–”  
“I was in the army, brat. I know what I’m doing.”  
You stopped talking immediately, as he inspected the glass sticking out of your jacket.  
You watched, wide-eyed as he carefully pulled the largest piece out. You winced at the sting, but it wasn’t too bad.  
He looked at you carefully.  
“Are you okay?” he asked, and you were surprised at the almost gentle tone of his voice.  
“Yeah,” you replied quietly.  
  
He looked for a place to set down the bloody shard, and finding none, turned back to you.  
“Let’s move into the bathroom.”  
You nodded, and he released you then.  
You followed him into the bathroom and he nodded toward the bathtub.  
“Sit,” he instructed, and you followed his orders and sat at the edge of the tub, not daring to test him.  
He then kneeled down next to you, and cradled your arm in his hands, and looked at the glass carefully.  
Pulling out a couple more shards, he watched you carefully each time, scanning your face to make sure you were okay.  
The pain wasn’t too bad, thankfully, and you only bit your lip at the mild discomfort.  
  
“You should probably take off you jacket so I can clean the wound.”  
You froze at hearing those words. This was exactly what you were afraid would happen.  
“Um…” your heart began racing again, thinking about the “Fuck Professor Ackerman” and “Professor Ackerman, fuck me,” just underneath your jacket.  
He narrowed his eyes slightly.  
“Is there a problem?” he asked.  
“Uh…I’m fine with the jacket on,” you mumbled. You really had no excuses…  
He stared at you, deadpan.  
“You’re fine with your bloody and soaking wet jacket _on_?” he said, unamused.  
  
You shifted your attention to the floor, heart pounding, and very aware of his unimpressed gaze on you.  
Finally, you sighed, seeing no way out.  
“Okay, but let me explain first,” you said, still not able to meet his eyes.  
“Explain?” he asked, raising an eyebrow.  
You paused for several seconds, and Professor Ackerman waited, and then you took a deep breath and started talking.  
“I went to a party last night… and I pulled a prank on a friend…and he got really mad so then he wrote all over my arms and…it’s really not appropriate.”  
  
With that said, you slowly unzipped your jacket, and began peeling the wet fabric off your un-cut arm, revealing the “Fuck Professor Ackerman.”  
You could hardly breathe as you pulled gently on the sleeve of the right arm, wincing as small glass pieces pulled with it, and then uncovered “Professor Ackerman, fuck me.”  
“I’m so sorry,” you mumbled, “It was a stupid prank.”  
  
He didn’t say anything, which only made you more nervous.  
“P-professor Ackerman,” you stuttered, feeling tears begin to well up, “I really am s-sorry!”  
“Levi.”  
“Huh?”  
“Just call me Levi when we’re not in class.”  
He suddenly got up, and opened the closet door, pulling out a washcloth.  
Wetting it, he knelt back down next to you, and gently held your arm and began cleaning the blood off it.  
You sat there on baited breath the whole time, still unsure if he was angry or upset.  
  
The silence lingered the entire time he cleaned.  
The feeling of his rough hands on your skin felt foreign to you, and you didn’t dare move an inch as he held your arm.  
He finished cleaning the wound and now returned to the closet for a bandage.  
Finding a suitable one, he began wrapping the cloth carefully around your forearm.  
  
“Do you mean any of it?”  
“Huh?”  
The sound of his voice caught you off guard, and you found yourself staring at Levi with eyes wide.  
His gaze remained on bandaging your arm.  
“What’s written on you…do you mean any of it?”  
  
You gasped.  
“No! No, of course not!” you said, shaking your head furiously.  
“I see.”  
He made one last wrap around your arm with the bandages, then tied it off.  
“There. All set.”  
You inspected the work casually, as he put away the supplies.  
“I think I’ll be going now, unless you need anything else,” Levi said, still not addressing the writing on your arms, to your dismay.  
“Uh, no, I should be fine,” you mumbled, and indicated for him to exit the bathroom.  
  
You followed him to the front door, and opened it for him, letting in a gust of cold air.  
You shivered slightly as you were now only in short sleeves.  
Levi took note of this, and hesitated for a moment before saying,  
“Wait here a second.”  
He then went out the door, and you watched him open his car door and grab something.  
You frowned, not sure what he was doing, when he reappeared, handing you a bundle of cloth.  
  
Accepting it slowly, you held it up to find it was a charcoal gray sweater.  
“Oh, I’ll be fine without this..” you mumbled, feeling awkward just thinking about wearing it.  
“You don’t want that little one getting wise and reading your arms,” he replied dully.  
You had to admit he had a point.  
“Thank you,” you said softly, and Levi nodded.  
He lingered in the doorway for a moment, and you didn’t know what to say, but suddenly heard yourself blurt out,  
“I’m sorry again, for the writing! I swear it was just a mean prank and I don’t mean–”  
  
“f/n.”  
You stopped abruptly, breathing in sharply as Levi reached out and grasped your arm gently.  
He stared at you intently, and for once, you could actually see the emotion in his eyes, and it surprised you.  
They were so _kind_.  
“I believe you. Don’t worry about it,” he said softly, leaving you without words at his sudden kindness.  
The two of you stood there silently for several seconds, before Levi cleared his throat.  
“Right, well, thank you for helping me find my phone. I’ll see you Monday.”  
  
With that, he turned and walked back to his car.  
You closed the door behind him, then slumped your back against it, clutching the gray sweater to your chest, trying to process this new side of Levi you just encountered.


	11. Chapter 11

The clock read 9:42 when you heard a car pull in. Moments later, the side door could be heard opening, and Erwin and Petra’s voices came through.  
You shuffled over to meet them, pulling on the sleeves of the sweater. It was rather warm, you had to admit, and smelled of tea leaves and vanilla. But it was still Levi’s, which made the whole situation kind of weird to you.  
“We’re back!” Erwin called before you had turned the corner and appeared.  
“Oh, there you are,” he grinned, “Anything exciting happen while we were gone?”   
You shrugged.  
“Armin spilled his milk again, and Levi stopped by to get his phone.”  
Petra suddenly whipped her head to stare at you.  
“Levi was here?” she repeated.  
You frowned, confused as to why she seemed so interested in this news.  
“Yeah,” you said slowly, “I helped him find his phone.”  
“And…you found it?” she asked.  
You nodded.  
“It was in your bedside table. I guess Armin hid it there.”  
  
Erwin turned to look at his wife.   
“He shouldn’t be in there. We’ll have to talk to him about that.”  
“I’ll talk to him tomorrow morning,” Petra immediately piped up, then turned back to you, “Is he in bed now?”  
You nodded, and she then made her way up the stairs.   
You watched her go, still confused by her strange behavior.  
  
Erwin nodded his head toward the garage door, snapping your attention back to him.   
“C’mon, I’ll drive you home.”  
  
***   
  
The two of you drove in silence for a minute or so, which was rather peculiar, considering Erwin was always one for conversation.  
You observed him as he drove, and noticed he looked…rather tired.  
You frowned. Something was clearly on his mind.  
He caught you watching him, and glanced your way.  
“What?”  
You shook your head, returning your gaze to the road ahead.  
“Nothing,” you shrugged.  
  
“Where did you get that sweater?”  
“Huh?”   
You had almost forgotten about the sweater for a moment.  
“Oh, Armin spilled milk on this one–” you held up the still damp jacket–“But I still had this second one.”  
“It doesn’t look like it fits quite right.”  
“It’s a friend’s,” you shrugged.   
Erwin didn’t respond for a moment, but you saw him smile coyly.  
“Is it that boy’s?” he said quietly.  
You snorted and rolled your eyes.  
“What boy, Erwin?  
“That boy you went to the party with.”   
You could tell he was loving this, making you squirm and roll your eyes.  
“It’s not, and you’re annoying,” you snapped back, causing him to chuckle.  
  
Another pausing ensued between the two of you, and you fidgeted with your sweater sleeves.  
“How was your date?” you finally offered.  
Erwin didn’t respond immediately, and you thought maybe he didn’t hear you at first.  
“How was–”   
“It was fine.”  
You frowned, and glanced over at him. Something was clearly wrong, but you decided to let it be. It wasn’t your place to pry.  
  
Erwin turned one last corner, and pulled into your apartment’s driveway.   
You unbuckled, and got out of the car, but turned to face him.  
“Thanks for the ride Erwin.”   
He returned your gaze, giving a warm smile.  
“You’re welcome. Thank you for watching Armin.”   
You nodded and then made your way into the building, giving one last wave goodbye as he pulled out.  
  
***   
  
_We’ll be back in just a minute sweetie.”  
Your mother gave you a quick smile, closing the passenger side door and joined your father in heading into the bank.  
You propped your feet up on the back of the driver seat and turned your music up.  
The three of you had been running errands most of the late morning, and the two of them needed to make one last stop to the bank, then home.  
  
You stared aimlessly out the window as the occasional customer walked in or out.   
It was a particularly nice Saturday afternoon. The sky was blue, and the air was hinting at the first signs of spring.   
A truck pulled up and parked next to your parent’s van, and you glanced at the driver to see a middle-aged man get out.   
He was carrying a rather large black duffel bag with him, and dark sunglasses.  
  
You gasped suddenly as he caught you looking at him, but was surprised when he only smiled and waved.  
He began walking toward the bank, and you continued to observe him. Something seemed off about him…  
He looked over his shoulder right before opening the doors, and stared directly at you.  
Raising a finger to his lips, he winked, then walked inside.  
  
You contemplated his strange behavior for a moment.  
Shrugging, you decided he was probably just some weird guy.  
  
And then you heard the first gunshot. _  
  
***   
  
You woke up screaming that night.  
Your clock read 3:28.  
  
***   
  
You arrived at class extra early Monday morning, with a purpose. You positioned yourself outside of Hanji’s classroom, leaning against the wall and scanning the hallway.  
A few minutes passed and several students filed in, when you saw your target.  
“You!” you said, pointing at the short kid with a buzz cut.  
“Uh oh…” he mumbled, and Sasha threw him a look of pity before continuing her way into the classroom.  
“You went _too far_ the other night Connie!” you hissed.  
“f/n, it’s not even nine yet,” he groaned, “How do you have this much angst at nine in the morning?”  
“Because a _certain someone_ saw what you had written on my arms this weekend!”   
  
His eyes grew wide at this.  
“Wait, Professor Ackerman saw it??”   
You nodded.  
“How?”  
“I was at a family friend’s house that he knows, and he stopped by.”  
Connie threw his hands behind his head, and whistled lowly.  
“What are the odds.”   
You narrowed your eyes.  
“You owe me for that one, Springer!”   
  
Connie took a defensive pose now, staring you straight on.  
“That’s what you get for making me embarrass myself in front of those two hot girls!”  
You rolled your eyes.  
“Those ‘two hot girls’ are in our history class, and I’m pretty sure they’re _dating_.”  
Connie furrowed his eyebrows, considering this new information.  
“Do you think they’d still be interested in me?”   
“Connie!” you groaned. He really wasn’t the brightest bulb in the bunch.    
  
“Fine!” he sighed, throwing up his hands. “Yeah, how about I owe you a favor sometime then? Does that sound fair?”  
You didn’t react for a moment, pleased to see this made Connie squirm a bit, then smiled.  
“Yes. Sounds good to me.”  
  
“I thought I heard talking out here.”  
You turned around to see Hanji poking her head out the door. She had her usual wide grin plastered on her face, and she motioned for the two of you to come inside.  
“We’re about to start class!”   
You and Connie followed her in and took your usual seats in the back of the room.  
  
Hanji clapped her hands together, getting everyone’s attention.  
“Right, so today I’ll be going around okaying everyone’s proposals for your first project! This shouldn’t take too long, so just chatter amongst yourselves until I’m finished!”  
She started in the front of the classroom, so you grabbed your notebook and pencils and began drawing.  
You were working on one of the pages of your first chapter of Attack on Titan. The particular panel you were drawing had the image of a giant Titan’s head peering over the side of the massive walls surrounding a village.   
It had been several minutes when you heard a voice right behind you.  
  
“Oooh, what’s that? That looks amazing!”  
You turned your head to see Hanji inspecting your work, eyes wider than usual behind her large glasses.   
“Oh this?” you said, feeling slightly embarrassed, “It’s nothing really. Did you want to see my sculpture idea?”  
“Yes, but let’s talk about this instead.”  
You smiled awkwardly, unsure of what to say, but thankfully Hanji had that covered.   
She began firing question after question at you.  
  
“What’s the story called?”  
“Attack on Titan…”  
“How long have you been working on it?”  
“About a year…”  
“How much of it do you have done?”  
“This is just the first chapter…”  
“Have you looked for any publishers yet?”  
“What?”  
  
You stared at her, eyebrows furrowed.  
“Any publishers?” she repeated, thinking you didn’t hear her.  
You didn’t say anything for a moment, then just shook your head.  
“N-no…I haven’t. It’s not really good enough…”  
Hanji threw up her hands in mock exasperation, then gave you a little shove.  
“Are you telling me I don’t know good art when I see it?” she asked, staring down at you with eyes unblinking.  
“Uh…no?” you said softly, noticing a few people starting to stare.  
  
Hanji just beamed back at you, then pulled out a small notebook from her back pocket.   
Scribbling something down, she ripped off a piece of paper and handed it to you.   
“My friend runs a publishing company that specializes in graphic arts. I want you to call them, set up an appointment, and say you’re a friend of Hanji Zoe. You got that?”  
You swallowed hard, shocked at everything that just happened, and just nodded, unable to speak.  
“Good good! Now let’s take a look at that sculpture!”  
  
***   
  
The second Nanaba’s lecture ended, you booked it out the door.   
You had learned by now that if you left right away, you could make it to Levi’s class just in time with only having to speed walk.  
Passing the double doors to the math building, you wiped the thin layer of sweat forming on your forehead before rounding the corner into his classroom.   
He was sitting at the desk, and looked up briefly as you entered.   
You smiled slightly, but he only returned to his papers at hand.   
  
As you sat through class that day, something felt different. For some reason, you felt less like he was Professor Ackerman, the distant, scary instructor, but rather, he was Levi now.   
You recalled the Levi you encountered the other night, the one who was understanding and helpful and nice to you.   
You sighed, recalling your initial interactions.  
He had already apologized for your first run in on the sidewalk…and you _were_ late to his class. He hadn’t exactly yelled at you over that anyway. And neither of you hardly spoke at Erwin and Petra’s that night…  
Maybe you had been wrong about him after all…  
  
“Ms. l/n?”  
“Huh?”  
You were suddenly pulled away from your thoughts to see Levi staring at you.  
“Can you answer the question on the board?”  
Your eyes widened as you stared at the foreign language written behind him.   
“Uh…” you felt your face begin to grow red in embarrassment. Everyone seemed to be staring right at you just then, making everything worse.  
“No, sorry,” you finally mumbled.  
He sighed, then nodded.  
“Anyone else?”  
You slumped in your seat, feeling like a failure. You hadn’t been understanding any of the homework at all, and you were definitely going to bomb that quiz coming up next week…  
  
The hour passed, and students began filing out, when you heard,  
“Ms. l/n, please stay behind.”  
You stopped where you were, and noticed Mikasa shoot you a mischievous look before exiting the room.  
‘Oh come off it…’ you thought.   
  
Once everyone had left, you approached Levi’s desk slowly.  
He picked up a stack of papers and began leafing through them, until he pulled out what you recognized as the practice test from last week.  
“This,” he said, handing it to you, “Was abysmal.”   
You took the paper from him, and swallowed hard to see red ‘x’s next to nearly every single question.  
“Sorry,” you mumbled, feeling ashamed.  
“Don’t be.”  
You looked up at these words, surprised, to see Levi looking over what appeared to be a planner.  
  
“It’s my job as your professor to make sure you succeed,” he continued, “But I don’t think you’ll pass my class without some extra help.”  
You nodded, having a strange feeling about what he was getting at.  
“I have spare time during these hours. Do any of these work?”  
He handed you his phone to show a few highlighted times. You bit your lip, not sure if you were okay with this situation, but feeling no way out of it.  
“Thursday at five works.”   
You passed the phone back to him and he nodded.   
  
“Very well, let’s plan once a week for a tutoring session. We can meet in my office.”  
He scrawled on a piece of paper and handed it to you.  
“It’s on the second floor, Room 2900.”  
“Thank you.”  
You accepted the paper, and set your bag down to put it in. You opened it up, and noticed the gray piece of fabric laying there.  
“Oh,” you said, pulling it out, and reached out to hand it to Levi.  
  
“This is yours,” you said, and he slowly took the sweater back from you. “I washed it.”  
He nodded, and the two of you remained silent for a moment.   
You stared off to the floor, not sure what to say or if you were dismissed.  
“How’s your arm?”  
“Much better, thank you,” you said softly.  
Another silence ensued.  
After a few seconds, you decidedly picked up your bag and slung it back onto your shoulders.  
“Um, I’ll see you Wednesday, then,” you shrugged, and slowly turned toward the door.  
  
“Wait, f/n.”   
You were about to turn the doorknob when his monotone voice stopped you.  
“Yes?”   
You turned around to face him, and Levi’s breath caught for a second as your h/c locks flowed gracefully through the air.  
Realizing he hadn’t said anything, he asked.  
“You don’t…hate me, do you?”  
  
Your eyes widened, and you stared at Levi questioningly. Where was this coming from? Was he actually…concerned whether you liked him or not?  
“No,” you said quietly, “Why would you–”  
“What’s written on your arms,” he interrupted, and you noticed he couldn’t quite seem to meet your gaze.  
You frowned.  
“No, I told you, that was some dumb prank. It means nothing.”  
He nodded slowly, then raised his head to lock onto your e/c eyes once more.  
“That was all. Thank you.”  
You kept his gaze for a moment longer, trying to understand what was going on behind those grey eyes, before nodding and exiting the room.


	12. Chapter 12

You arrived at the Smith household later that evening for dinner, and were surprised to not hear a certain toddler come running to greet you upon walking through the door.   
“I’m here!” you called, looking in various rooms down the hall for signs of life.  
You finally made your way into the kitchen, where you found Erwin at the kitchen table, apparently working on a lesson plan for his class.  
He looked up as you walked in, and smiled faintly.  
“Hey, f/n. Sorry, didn’t hear ya. Got a little caught up in my work.”  
You shrugged, and took a seat across from him.  
“It’s fine. Where’s Petra and Armin?”   
“Armin’s at a friend’s house for the evening, and Petra had to stay late at the hospital.”  
  
You nodded. Petra had to stay at work fairly often, seeing as she was one of the head nurses at Trost Hospital.   
“So just the two of us tonight?” you asked, pulling out your algebra textbook and notebook.  
He nodded.  
“Yeah, we can order takeout. Just let me finish this up real quick.”  
The two of you sat in silence for the next few minutes, and you engrossed yourself in your homework. It didn’t take long, however, before you got frustrated and looked away for a moment.   
You frowned as your gaze stopped on Erwin, and you noticed he still had that same saddened look in his eyes. You watched him sigh heavily, seemingly weighted down by work he was normally so passionate about.  
  
You decided to test the waters, and ventured a question.  
“Erwin…” you said quietly, and he picked his gaze up to look at you. “Are you doing alright?”  
He furrowed his bushy eyebrows.  
“I’m fine. Why do you ask?”   
You bit your bottom lip, unsure how to go about the conversation without being rude.  
“It’s just…you seem a bit tired lately, that’s all.”   
  
Erwin didn’t respond for a moment, and you thought maybe he was angry, but then he sighed, setting his pen down and looking at the table.  
“Can’t get anything past you, can I?” he said with a slightly amused tone.   
He looked back at you, as you waited attentively for what he was going to say.  
“It’s just Petra and I…” he started, “We’ve been rather…at ends lately, and I’m feeling a bit spread thin.”   
He shook his head, and smiled weakly.  
“It’s just because she’s been working so much lately, I’m sure. But we never see each other as a result, and when we do…” he shrugged, “It just seems like I can’t please her with anything I say right now.”  
  
You nodded slowly, surprised to hear what Erwin said. The two of them almost never seemed at odds with each other since you’d known them, so why weren’t they getting along all of a sudden?  
“Like I said,” Erwin interjected, getting out of his chair and stacking his papers, “It’s just because she’s overworked. This will pass.”  
He grinned.  
“So, how about Chinese food?”  
  
***   
  
Erwin pulled back into his garage after he finished dropping you off later that evening. He frowned at seeing it still empty, Petra’s car no where to be seen.   
He stepped back into his house, throwing the keys on the dining room table as he walked through on his way into the living room.  
There, he took a seat on the couch, and sat with his face in his hands, suddenly feeling quite tired.  
 _”It’s just because she’s overworked. This will pass.”_  
He sighed heavily.  
Did he really believe that?   
The words kept repeating in his head, over and over, and he desperately wanted them out.   
But he had to believe that, because his other thoughts were far worse…  
  
He suddenly sat up, feeling his phone vibrating.  
Pulling it out of his back pocket, he read a text from Mrs. Langar, Armin’s friend’s mom, saying Erwin could pick him up anytime.   
He sighed, and got off the couch, stretching his back before heading back out.   
  
Stopping by the dining table to pick up his keys, he noticed a notebook laying there that he didn’t recognize.  
Picking it up, he examined it, then flipped to the first page, and suddenly furrowed his eyebrows at what he read.  
  
“f/n l/n, Algebra one…” he murmured, “Professor _Levi Ackerman?_ ”  
  
***   
  
**Room 2900**  
  
You stood in the doorway, staring at the outside of Levi Ackerman’s office for several seconds, seriously contemplating just turning around and leaving.  
Sure, it was getting easier to talk to him now, but that didn’t mean you wanted to meet with him one-on-one every week!  
You sighed, realizing you were just going to have to suck it up, and knocked softly on the door.  
  
There was no response, and for a moment you hoped maybe he had forgotten about your tutoring session, when suddenly the door opened, revealing Levi’s short but intimidating figure.   
You were surprised to see him not wearing his usual suit vest and tie, but instead only the pressed, white-collared button-down with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows.  
“Come in,” he said, and you followed him to his desk, taking a seat across from him.  
  
His office was rather small, with only a desk, bookcase, and a couple extra chairs. You gazed around the room, noticing it was absolutely spotless. Everything was in order, with no signs of dust or dirt.   
Your eyes suddenly stopped at a certain plaque resting in the bookcase. It was framed box containing a small key in it and underneath it was written, “Key to the City, Karanes District.”  
‘Karanes?’   
You frowned. That was your hometown…  
  
“Let’s get started.”  
You were taken out of your thoughts as Levi pulled out the textbook and placed it on his desk in front of you.  
The two of you got started right away, and he helped you through some of the points you hadn’t understood from the previous week’s homework.  
You had to admit, he was good at his job, and very soon you felt yourself finally beginning to grasp the concepts.   
However, during the entire session, you had this strange feeling of him _staring_ at you the whole time.   
As you worked through various problems, you could feel his gaze on you, not angry or mean-spirited, but intense nonetheless.   
Yet anytime you would look up, his gaze went almost anywhere else except to you.  
  
After about an hour, Levi checked his watch and stood up.   
“I think that’s enough for today,” he said in his usual monotone.  
You nodded, and put your things back into your bag. As you did however, your gaze found that framed key again.  
Levi noticed this, and glanced over it as well.  
“Are you from Karanes?” you finally asked.  
“No,” he replied shortly.  
There was a pause, and you thought he was going to say more, but he only continued to stare sullenly at the plaque.  
“Well…” you said, slinging your backpack over your shoulder, “Thank you for the help today.”  
He nodded, and you thought his eyes suddenly appeared more sunken than usual.  
“Of course. See you tomorrow.”   
He returned to his desk, and you headed out the door, feeling even more perplexed about this strange man than before.  
  
***   
  
Levi arrived at the coffee shop promptly at 2:00 the following Saturday afternoon. He ordered himself a black tea and took a seat in one of the corner tables.  
His tea arrived a couple minutes later, and shortly after, a certain tall, blond man arrived as well. Levi raised a hand in greeting, which he returned before getting in line to order.  
  
“Sorry I’m a little late,” Erwin sighed, settling in the seat across from Levi a moment later, “Traffic was bad.”  
Levi merely shrugged and took a sip of his tea. He always had a peculiar way of drinking, and grasped the cup around the rim, rather than by the handle.  
“How is Petra and Armin?” he asked evenly.  
“They’re both fine. Armin learned how to write his own name this week.”  
“Oh? Did he really?”  
Erwin chuckled softly.  
“Well, he gets the ‘m’ and the ‘n’ mixed up sometimes, but he’s got the gist of it.”  
  
Levi nodded, not even cracking a smile, but Erwin was used to this. He knew his friend hardly ever showed his emotions, and had always been fine with this.  
“You said there was something you wanted to ask me?”  
Erwin nodded, but his attention was taken away as his coffee arrived.  
“Thank you,” he said, smiling to the barista, then took a sip before turning to Levi again.  
“Yes, there was something,” he said, and the raven-haired man noted a change of seriousness in his tone.  
“Why didn’t you tell me f/n was in your class?”  
  
Levi’s eyebrows raised in surprise, caught off guard by Erwin’s question. The blond was staring at him intently, waiting for a response.  
“How did you find out?” he said quietly.  
Erwin furrowed his eyebrows.  
“Does it really matter, Levi? Why did you lie about it in the first place?” his voice grew slightly more aggressive.   
‘He seems agitated today…’ Levi thought to himself.   
  
He really didn’t want to tell Erwin why he had kept this a secret, so he tried to avoid a straight answer again.  
“It’s complicated, Erwin.”  
The blond didn’t respond right away, and only stared at his friend with narrowed eyes.  
“What do you mean _complicated?_ ” he said in a low voice.  
Levi didn’t answer.  
“Is there something going on between you two?”  
“No,” the raven-haired man responded, not meeting Erwin’s gaze.  
“You’re not…together, are you?”  
“No,” he shook his head.  
“Then what is it?”   
Erwin’s voice was nearly shaking at this point, but he still kept his calm demeanor.  
  
When Levi didn’t respond yet again, Erwin leaned forward, staring at the man intently.  
“Levi…” he said, his voice softening, “f/n…she’s like a daughter to me. So please…what are you hiding?”  
The raven-haired man blinked at the ground a couple times, and even took a sip of tea, before finally sighing.  
“Alright, Erwin, I’ll tell you…”  
“Thank y–”  
“But I need you to tell me something first.”  
Erwin sat back in his seat.  
“What is it?” he asked curiously.  
“I want you to tell me about how f/n’s parents died."


	13. Chapter 13

Erwin knit his thick brows together, not quite sure he’d heard his friend correctly.  
“What?”  
Levi looked up at him with a downcast expression.  
“I want you to tell me about f/n’s parent’s death,” he repeated.  
Erwin’s mouth opened slightly, shocked by the audacity of the question.  
“Levi…why the hell would you ask such a thing??” his voice grew in volume with every word.  
The raven-haired man glanced around the coffee shop, thankful to see it was practically empty. He hated to cause a disturbance.

He sighed.  
“Erwin…I promise you, I have my reasons for asking. Have you ever known me to pry where it wasn’t my business?”  
The blond man considered this for a moment, then had to admit it was true.   
“I suppose not, but how does her parent’s death concern you?”   
Erwin thought Levi suddenly looked very tired, the dark circles under his eyes becoming more prominent. Had he always looked this way?  
“Erwin…” his friend said in a low monotone, “It does concern me, but you’re just going to have to trust me on this one.”

A pause ensued between the two men as Erwin thought it over. To anyone else, he wouldn’t dare share your past to. But Levi seemed so sure…and he’d never given him a reason to doubt him before…  
“Alright,” Erwin finally sighed, “I’ll tell you.”

*** 

Meanwhile…

“So what are we gonna do tonight guys?”  
Sasha leaned back in her chair lazily, stuffing the last bite of her sandwich into her mouth.  
You chuckled at your friend’s antics as you carefully used the palette knife to sculpt your work. It was your first assignment for Hanji’s class, and you were creating a small-scale house (about 8” tall by a foot long and 6”wide) out of clay, then making a mold to cast the shape in bronze. The house was similar to ones in 12th century Germany, but you also made it partially destroyed by random debris down the middle.  
“Why did you make the house all smashed like that, f/n?” Marco asked, inspecting your work.  
You shrugged.   
“Dunno. Seemed more interesting that way.”

“So what are we doing tonight?” Eren yawned, leaning back in his chair so only two of its legs stayed on the ground.   
“I don’t know,” you said, not taking your eyes off your work, “But I’m going to be here for another couple hours.”  
Eren, Sasha, Marco, and Mikasa had all joined you that afternoon in the sculpture studio. The five of you had been there about an hour at this point.  
“Sasha, shouldn’t you be working on your project too?” you said, noticing she hadn’t even gotten hers out to work on.  
“You can’t rush art f/n,” was her response.

“f/n, what did Professor Ackerman talk to you about after class this Monday?”   
You turned your attention to Mikasa, surprised at her sudden question.   
“Oh, that?” you shrugged, “He just set up a tutoring session with me since I suck at algebra, that’s all.”   
You returned to your work, only to notice everyone went quiet.  
You then turned back to see all your friends staring at you with the same, odd expression.  
“What guys?”  
No one said anything, but you noticed Mikasa and Sasha each raise an eyebrow and stare at you rather mischievously.   
“What??” 

“A tutoring session…with just you and Professor Ackerman?” Eren finally said, in an uncommonly quiet voice.  
You nodded.  
“Yeah, I already had my first one Thursday.”  
“Oooooh,” Sasha sang, “f/n and the professor, sittin’ in a tree…”  
“Sasha!” you snapped, feeling your face flush red. “It’s…it’s not like that!”  
“But Mikasa said–”  
“Mikasa just said she thought he was interested in me. He’s probably not.”   
You felt yourself getting more aggravated the longer this conversation wore on.

“True…” Sasha considered, “But I’ve never known Mikasa to be wrong.”  
You made a face.  
“That’s ridiculous. No one can be right all the time.”  
“It’s true!” Eren piped up suddenly, and you shot him a look that he did not pick up on. “She predicted the housing crisis of 2008, and that was when we were only twelve!”  
“And one time, she said my chocolate milk seemed spoiled!” Sasha cried, “And it was! I was sick for days!”  
You gave her a strange look.  
“You drank the milk even after she said it was bad?”   
“I wasn’t going to waste it!”

You shook your head, trying to dismiss the entire conversation.  
“Okay fine, Mikasa’s right all the time. Can we move on?”  
The tone of your voice seemed enough to convince everyone to drop the subject. 

“Then what are we doing tonight?!?” Eren repeated, quite loudly this time.  
“What about this party?” Sasha piped up, as she scrolled through her phone. “It’s at a guy named…Reiner Braun’s house.”   
She snorted.  
“What kind of name is Reiner?”   
Eren shrugged.  
“Sure, I’m down for a party.”  
Mikasa nodded as well, indicating she was also in.  
“Marco? f/n?”  
Marco shrugged as well, then offered a cheerful smile.  
“Why not?” he grinned.

You shot everyone an apologetic look.  
“I’m sorry guys, I really don’t feel up for a party tonight…”  
Sasha frowned like a puppy dog.  
“Are you sure?” she whimpered, “We can do something else tonight then!”  
“No, no!” you insisted, “Really, I’ll be fine on my own but thanks.”  
Everyone seemed convinced by this and slowly nodded.  
“In that case…” Eren said, getting out of his seat, “I’m gonna go eat before we head out.”  
The others agreed this was a good idea, and got up as well.  
“We’ll see ya f/n!” Marco called as the group headed out, and you waved back.

You were then left to yourself in the studio. It was rather peaceful this way, and you made good progress over the next couple hours by yourself when you finally decided to clean up.   
Just after you put your tools away and washed your hands, a familiar voice called from behind, half scaring you to death.  
“Helloooo f/n!” came the voice of Hanji Zoe, and you turned around slowly to see the bespectacled brunette beaming down at you.  
“Hello Hanji,” you replied politely, heart still beating from her scaring you.  
“Didya call the publisher yet?” she immediately got the point, as always.  
“Uhh…no,” you said weakly. Truthfully, you still didn’t think you had what it takes to get your story published…

“Do it. Right now!” she cried, to your surprise.  
“I don’t know Hanji…” you said, “Besides, it’s Saturday. The publishing house probably isn’t open.”  
“Fine, then I’ll just call his personal number!” Hanji suddenly pulled out her phone, and started pressing buttons.  
“W-wait! Hanji!” you cried, but it was too late.

“Eld! It’s Hanji!” she cheered. You could faintly hear a reply on the other end, but couldn’t make out what he was saying.  
“Listen, I have a student here who is a great illustrator. She’s created this story–oh it’s great, you gotta see it! I want you to set up a meeting with her!”  
You waited in horror as she nodded a few times, listening to his response.  
“Uh huh. Uh huh. Yeah. Yep! Yep, here she is!”  
Suddenly, she shoved the phone into your face, which you accepted frantically.

“H-hello?” you stammered.  
“Yes, f/n?” The man’s voice sounded calm, and thankfully not annoyed with Hanji’s pushy phone call.  
“T-that’s me.”  
“My name’s Eld Jinn, I work for Special Operations Publishing House. I’d like to meet with you sometime about your story. If Hanji says it’s that good, I believe her.”  
“Um…” you couldn’t quite believe this was all happening, and weren’t sure what to say.  
“How about you give me your email, and we can set up a meeting?” he offered.  
“Um, yeah…” you said slowly, “Yeah, that sounds good.”

You proceeded to give him the information.  
“Very good,” he said, “I’ll be contacting you shortly. Have a good evening.”  
“Thanks, you too,” you replied, and then ended the call.  
You let out a long sigh, overwhelmed by everything that just happened, and handed the phone back to a smiling Hanji.  
She gave you a playful shove.  
“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?”

 

*** 

Levi was nothing but patient as Erwin spoke.  
“It happened in the beginning of spring nearly two years ago,” he began. “f/n and her parents had been shopping one Saturday afternoon, and they made one last stop at the bank before home.”  
He sighed and looked down at the table, the sad memories beginning to come back to him.  
“There was a serial bank robber active at the time, moving around Wall Rose. He would shoot the whole place up, steal all he could, and be out in mere minutes.”  
Erwin shook his head.  
“You never think those kind of things can happen…” he said quietly, “Not to the people you love…”

He paused a moment, and Levi could see the pain in his friend’s eyes, making him feel guilty for asking him to do this.  
“f/n’s parents went into the bank, and left her in the car,” he now continued. “And he arrived a couple minutes after. He shot the cameras first, then started shooting those in line…which happened to be the l/ns.”  
“And then what happened?” Levi asked quietly.  
“Thankfully, there was an ex-soldier there who stopped the bastard before he hurt anyone else,” Erwin replied. “So he’s rotting in jail right now.”  
He shook his head.   
“Still…it’s hard to feel as if justice was done. All those people he killed…and f/n being left with no parents…” 

Another short silence ensued between the two men before Erwin cleared his throat.  
“So there you have it, Levi. Now, explain to me why you wanted to know?”  
Levi was quiet for a moment, and took a sip of his tea, and Erwin thought he might go back on their deal.  
“Because…” he finally said quietly, “Because I was there too.”


	14. Chapter 14

“You were…there?” Erwin repeated, not hardly believing what his friend just said.  
Levi nodded slowly.  
“Yeah, I was.”   
Erwin furrowed his eyebrows, and sat back in his chair.  
“Explain then,” he said in a quiet voice.  
Levi glanced down at his tea before speaking, almost like a scolded child fessing up.  
  
“I was the ex-soldier you mentioned in the story.”  
Erwin frowned.  
“How did I not know about this? On the news, or elsewhere?”  
Levi shook his head.  
“I made it explicitly clear to the authorities that I didn’t want my name put out there.”  
“But why not? You were hailed a hero for that–”  
“You already said why not,” Levi interjected. He still couldn’t bring himself to look Erwin in the eye, which the blond man was confused by.   
“f/n’s parents…” he continued, “I couldn’t save them…”  
  
Levi’s eyes narrowed slightly, and had a glazed, almost dead look in them, and Erwin recognized that look. It was the equivalent of Levi nearly crying.  
“Levi…” Erwin said quietly, leaning forward, “No one blames you for not saving them. You did all you could–”  
“I knew he had a gun,” the raven-haired man interjected, hardly listening to his friend, “I knew it the second he walked in. And if I would’ve just acted a second faster…”  
He shook his head, and ran his hand through his dark tresses.  
“I’ll never forget the look on f/n’s face,” he murmured, causing Erwin’s breath to catch.   
“I walked out of that bank…and she was standing there…not even crying. Just shocked…devastated…”  
He suddenly pounded his fist on the table, and Erwin sat up in surprise.  
“And the mayor gave me a damned key to the city for what I did.”   
Levi shook his head.  
“I keep that key in my office, but not because I think it’s an honor. No…it’s to remind me to be thankful for everything I have, because you never know when they can be taken away from you…just like f/n…”  
  
No one spoke for several seconds, as Erwin let everything Levi told him sink in. He couldn’t have imagined this was the secret he had been sharing. What would you think?   
“Levi,” Erwin said gently, “You have to tell f/n. She’d want to know.”  
The raven-haired man sighed.  
“I know, Erwin. I’ve thought about it every time I see her. It’s just, every time I get close to telling…I think about the look on her face when they told her her parents were…” he trailed off. “I know I don’t need to feel guilty, but I just do.”  
He finally lifted his head, meeting Erwin’s blue eyes with his stony grey ones.  
“I’m too afraid to tell her.”  
  
Erwin’s eyes grew wide at his friend’s words. In all the time he’d known Levi, the man had never been afraid to say what needed to be said.  
“She won’t be angry, you know,” he said carefully, “It was the robber who killed her parents, not you.”  
Levi nodded.  
“I know. I really do. That doesn’t change how I feel though.”  
Erwin was quiet for a moment, still struggling to comprehend the whole situation.  
“You will…tell her eventually, right?” he finally asked.  
Levi nodded again.  
“Yeah. I will. At the right time.”   
  
***   
  
The following Monday morning came around bright and early with your alarm going off.  
Groaning, you hit the button and sat up.  
You weren’t quite sure why, but something seemed…off today. Like there was a weight on your shoulders or something.   
You turned your phone on, and checked the date, sighing heavily to yourself.   
Today was going to be a long day.  
Your parent’s anniversary.   
  
***   
  
You sat through Hanji and Nanaba’s classes without paying attention whatsoever.   
There was something about this day that was worse than others. Christmas, Thanksgiving, their birthdays…those were all terrible without them too, but their anniversary always seemed the worst of all. It was like a blatant reminder that they weren’t here anymore.  
You started making your usual speed walk to algebra. The air was growing cooler and cooler by the day, making it less sweaty and strenuous to move so quickly nowadays, which you were thankful for.  
The entirety of class you mostly stared out the window, trying not to think about anything at all.   
  
Levi noticed this. He was about to say something, as he would usually try to reprimand anyone not paying attention in his class, but there was something about the way you looked that stopped him.  
He couldn’t help but feel sorry, if not somewhat worried, about the strained and desolate expression on your face, and he wondered what it could be about.  
  
After what seemed like an eternity, class was dismissed. You slowly packed your belongings and headed out the door, face down.  
It was about two steps out that you felt it hit you.  
‘Oh no…’ you thought to yourself, as your eyes started to water.  
You looked around wildly for a bathroom, but couldn’t find one, so you ran around the corner and into the stairwell, where you slumped against the wall.  
Hot tears started rolling down your cheeks that couldn’t be stopped, and you covered your mouth with your hand, trying to stifle your crying.  
Closing your eyes, you slid down the wall and took a seat off to the side of the stairs, trying to become invisible.  
  
You weren’t sure how long you were there when suddenly, you felt a hand on your knee.  
You gasped, and instinctively recoiled your body, but your eyes widened when you recognized the raven-haired man in front of you.  
“L-Levi–” you stuttered, face growing red at the thought of him seeing you like this.  
But the look on his face was not judgmental. No, not in the least bit. Instead, his eyes seemed to say, ‘I understand,’ and made you feel like you could trust him.  
He was crouched next to you, and then stood, holding out a hand.  
“Let’s go to my office,” he said, and before you could think about what you were doing, you found yourself reach up and allow him to help you to your feet.  
As you took his hand, you couldn’t help but notice how his touch didn’t make you shiver anymore. It felt, comforting, and almost…normal.   
  
He let go once you were standing and you followed him to his office.  
It was only a short trip up the stairs and down a hallway. You arrived in front of his door, and he pulled out his keys.  
A few students walked by, and you turned your head so they wouldn’t see you, only to notice Levi move around you to block you from their view.  
‘He’s being so nice…’ you thought to yourself, gracious yet slightly overwhelmed by his kindness.  
Levi unlocked the door, and opened it for you to go in first. You took the seat across from his desk as he closed the door behind him.   
  
“I-I’m s-s-sorry,” you stammered, trying to talk plainly, but without much success.   
“Don’t talk,” Levi said, his voice stern but gentle, and passed you a box of tissues.  
You took the box and nodded in appreciation. Taking a minute, you managed to calm your breathing down to an acceptable level and could begin to think more clearly.  
  
“I’m sorry,” you tried again now, grateful that your voice only wavered slightly. “It’s just…my parents anniversary is today and…”  
You took a deep breath, still trying to calm yourself more. Levi sat and waited patiently.  
“And well, they’re not here, erm, alive anymore,” you mumbled, not able to meet his gaze.  
A silence ensued now, and you weren’t quite sure how to react, and shifted uncomfortably in your seat.    
“You didn’t have to share that with me, you know,” Levi suddenly spoke up, and you picked your head up to meet his gaze   
You thought about his words for a moment, and realized he was right. Why did you share that with him? You hadn’t even told your friends about your parents.  
But you knew why, really. For some reason, you now trusted Levi. It was rather inexplicable, but you felt he truly understood your pain somehow, that he understood everything behind his stony exterior.  
“I know…” you said slowly, “…but I wanted to.”   
  
Levi nodded.  
“I’m sorry about your loss,” he said evenly.  
You gave a thin smile.  
“Thanks. And I’m sorry again…crying in your office like this. You must think I’m pathetic.”  
The raven-haired man frowned.  
“You’re not pathetic f/n,” he said quietly. “Don’t ever think that you’re not strong, because you are.”  
The tone of his voice made your breath catch and you weren’t sure how to respond. You could feel your cheeks heat up however, and you hoped he didn’t notice you blushing.   
“Th-thank you, Levi,” you finally stuttered.  
  
You dabbed the corners of your eyes a final time, then stood up, feeling much more stable than before.  
“I’ll see you Wednesday,” you said as you opened the door, and Levi nodded goodbye.  
Closing the door behind you, you stopped in the hall for a minute, trying to clear your mind.  
While the sad thoughts of your parents seemed to have disappeared for now, you had yet to sort out these strange feelings you were beginning to have for your professor…  
  
After you left, Levi let out a long sigh, leaning back in his chair.   
Just as he had begun to work up the courage to tell you the truth about your parent’s death, there he had found you, crying in the stairwell.  
The guilt he had been trying to rid himself of was renewed, and his heart nearly broke at seeing you there.  
  
He had been trying to deny it for some time now, but after finding you in that stairwell, so sad and small, he couldn’t help but face his true feelings.   
He had always cared about you, ever since the day of the incident. But now…he understood his feelings went beyond the normal boundaries of friendship.   
Levi, the man who had been in the army for four years, who had apprehended a known serial robber, who was never afraid of anything or anyone, was now terrified of his own feelings he was developing toward you.


	15. Chapter 15

The following weeks of class went by rather smoothly, thankfully. You were nearly finished with your sculpture for Hanji, and your first drawing assignment for Moblit had earned you an ‘A.’ Things were even looking up in algebra. You were beginning to understand most of the homework, and your grades were rapidly improving.  
Things with Levi, however, became even more complicated. You thought perhaps the two of you may have grown more comfortable around each other after the run-in on your parent’s anniversary, yet things seemed to have gotten worse.   
During your tutoring sessions, he would hardly look at you, and any of your attempts at small talk were either ignored or quickly shut down.   
You couldn’t help but wonder what was to blame for this sudden change of interaction. Had you done something wrong?   
  
“f/n, what do you want for your birthday?”   
Your thoughts were interrupted by Eren as he stared at you attentively, emerald eyes shimmering in the sunlight.  
“My birthday?” you repeated, remembering now that it was two days away.  
You thought for a second.  
“Um, I’m really not sure. Art supplies I guess?”  
“Hmm, think of something better.”  
Eren grinned cheekily, then returned his attention back to his homework.  
  
You, Eren, and Mikasa were at Eren’s place studying together. Outside, the leaves were beginning to fall gracefully to the streets below, now having turned beautiful shades of red, orange and yellow.  
“I don’t know what to tell you Eren, I just really don’t need that much stuff,” you shrugged.  
Eren rolled his eyes.  
“Fine, then let’s celebrate your birthday at a party this weekend. The whole gang. Whatdoya say?”  
He looked at you with that devilish smirk and you couldn’t help but laugh.  
“Okay, fine. That actually sounds like fun.”  
You thought you a second, then added, “Just no truth or dare.”  
Eren laughed.  
“Deal!”   
  
Your laptop suddenly binged, and you glanced over at it to see you had received an email.  
You didn’t quite recognize the name at first, but then gasped.  
“Oh my gosh!” you exclaimed, causing Eren and Mikasa to look at you wide-eyed.  
“What?” they both asked, but you were too busy reading.  
  
 **To: f/n l/n  
Reply-To: Eld Jinn  
Re: Meeting  
  
Hello Ms. l/n  
  
This is Eld Jinn, we spoke over the phone via Hanji Zoe a few weeks ago. Sorry to take so long getting back to you–things are very busy here as of now.   
  
I would like to set up a meeting sometime this week concerning your graphic novel. Please give us a call at 123-456-7890.   
  
Bring all materials you have for the story. Hanji told me you haven’t gotten that far–don’t worry. We’re willing to work with you at whatever stage you’re at depending on if we publish your story or not.  
  
Best,  
  
Eld Jinn  
Director of Communications Outreach  
Special Operations Publishing House**  
  
“WHAT f/n!?” Eren nearly screamed this time, as you apparently hadn’t responded to him the first several times.  
“That publisher I told you about emailed me! He wants to set up a meeting this week!” you grinned, feeling more excited than before now.   
Since it took him a while to email you back, you had been working hard on your story to get it review-ready. It wasn’t perfect, but the first chapter seemed pretty smoothed out, and the next few chapters were planned out as well.  
“That’s great f/n,” Mikasa smiled warmly.  
“Just make sure you remember us when you become famous,” Eren grinned.  
  
***   
  
The morning of your birthday was quite pleasant. Sasha offered you part of her sandwich in Hanji’s class that day (which you rejected, but the sentiment was good nonetheless), and Connie brought you a cupcake from the school’s shop (which you did accept).  
Nanaba and Levi’s class both went by as usual too. The normal for Levi was now that he had returned to not acknowledging you, nor even looking at you for that matter.   
You sighed. Why did his odd behavior bother you so much?   
  
Returning to your apartment after class, you checked your phone to see some unread messages.  
  
 **2:13 p.m. Erwin: See you tonight birthday girl!  
  
12:32 p.m. Petra: Happy Birthday f/n! Can’t wait to see you tonight!  
  
11:58 a.m. Marco: Happy birthday!!   
  
7:29 a.m. Connie: do you like chocolate or vanilla?**  
  
You smiled. Your birthday wasn’t really a big deal to you, but it was always nice to see people remembered and cared.  
You looked forward to dinner at the Smith’s tonight as well. It had been a while since you had seen them and you were starting to really miss that squealing toddler…  
  
***   
  
You arrived on the porch of their house later that evening and Erwin opened the door as you approached.  
“Ah! There’s the birthday girl!” he grinned like a fool, and you giggled at his dorkiness.  
“Hey Erwin,” you said warmly, meeting him for a hug. You didn’t even mind that it was a little too tight. It was good to see him.  
He released you and held you by the shoulders, giving you a glance over.  
“You even look older!” he beamed.  
You rolled your eyes, and gave him a little shove.  
“Stop acting like I’m ten, Erwin.”  
You stepped into the front hallway past the tall blond and he closed the door behind the both of you.  
  
“I still remember you when you were even smaller than Armin, you know,” Erwin continued the torment, bumping you playfully with his shoulder.  
“Oh god, let’s not talk about that…” you groaned.  
Erwin grinned.  
“Well too bad, cuz I got you that pink tutu you always wanted…”  
“Erwin!” you laughed, pretending to be annoyed. In all honesty, you couldn’t ever get mad at him.  
  
He dropped the teasing after that as you arrived in the kitchen.   
“It smells wonderful!” you said, breathing in the warm aromas of Petra’s cooking.  
The auburn-haired woman smiled, glancing over at you from the kitchen sink.  
“I would hope so, it’s your favorite!”  
She wiped her hands on her apron then approached you, bringing you in for a hug.  
“Happy birthday f/n!” she cheered, giving an extra squeeze before returning to her task.  
  
“f/n! f/n! f/n! f/nnnnn!”   
“I know who that is…” you said with a smirk.  
The child suddenly appeared in the doorway at top speed, hands waving wildly while making various shrieks and yells as he went.  
“Walk, Armin,” Erwin said sternly.  
That didn’t stop his son however, as he came racing toward you.  
You squatted over, prepared, and caught him in a tight hug. Standing up, you twirled around once, sending the boy’s legs flying though the air.  
  
“Hehehe! Yaaaay!” he squealed.  
Erwin shook his head in amusement as you set Armin down.  
“Happy birday f/n!” the toddler cheered, then ran into the other room.  
“Where’s he going?” you frowned, looking over at Erwin.  
He shrugged.  
“Probably to grab your present.”  
“Should I open it now?”  
He grinned.  
“I don’t think you want to keep Armin waiting.”  
  
You laughed, as you heard the thudding of footsteps telling you he was on his way back in. Indeed, he had a medium sized gift in his hands, which he held up to you.  
“Here go!” he said with a wide smile.  
You exaggerated a surprised face.  
“For _me_? Oh Armin, you shouldn’t have!”   
He giggled as you accepted the gift, and took a seat at the dining table to open it.  
  
“Oh, you guys!” you exclaimed as you pulled out the box.  
It was a drawing tablet that you could attach to your laptop to draw digitally.   
“You were always eyeing those things at the store when we went, so I hope you like it,” Erwin grinned.  
You smiled widely, and the look of pure joy on your face made Erwin beam.   
“I love it!”   
You looked around at all three of them.  
“Thanks so much you guys!”   
Everyone returned the smile, when the oven started beeping.  
Petra grinned.  
“I hope you’re all hungry. Time to eat!”  
  
***   
  
You ate your favorite meal quickly, relishing the delicious food much to Petra’s delight.  
The dinner conversation was pleasant, although you couldn’t help but notice Erwin and Petra were acting rather oddly. Anytime Petra spoke, it was to ask Armin or you a question, but never Erwin. In fact, it seemed like she hardly acknowledged his existence whatsoever. Erwin subtly tried to talk to her several times throughout the meal, commenting on her stories, or laughing at a joke, but she would not react.  
‘Erwin wasn’t kidding about them being strained lately…’ you thought glumly.  
  
Nevertheless, the evening was still enjoyable, and you were in good spirits as you got into Erwin’s vehicle to go home.  
As you were buckling your seatbelt, you felt something fall on your lap. You picked it up, recognizing it as your algebra notebook.  
“Here, I meant to give this to you weeks ago, but I haven’t seen you in a while,” Erwin said evenly, pulling the car out of the garage.  
You stared at Erwin nervously, wondering if he knew.  
He turned to you and grinned, to your relief.  
“Don’t worry. I’m not mad. Levi kind of forced that lie on you, yeah?”  
You sighed in relief and nodded.  
“Yeah, maybe a bit.”  
Erwin shook his head.  
“He’s a complex guy, isn’t he?”  
You chuckled.  
“You could say that again.”  
  
***   
  
Returning to your room that night, you pulled up your laptop, hoping to see if Eld had emailed you back about your proposed meeting time.   
You pulled up the email browser, seeing two unread.  
  
 **To: f/n l/n  
Reply-To: Eld Jinn  
Re: Re: Meeting  
  
Hello Ms. l/n,  
  
Yes, Friday will work great. See you then.  
  
Eld Jinn  
Director of Communications Outreach  
Special Operations Publishing House**  
  
You grinned, excited to think about the opportunities that might be on the horizon for you. You then proceeded onto the next email, and frowned at reading who it was from.  
  
 **To: f/n l/n  
Reply-To: Levi Ackerman  
Re: Tutoring tomorrow  
  
f/n -   
  
Something came up, and I cannot meet at our regular time for tutoring tomorrow. Can you meet me at the Café on West Elm Street at 7 p.m. instead?  
  
Let me know.  
  
\- Levi**  
  
You read the email twice just to be sure you understood it completely. He wanted to meet you outside of school? Wouldn’t it just have been easier to cancel meeting instead?  
You sighed, clicking the reply arrow on the screen.  
‘Why not?’  
  
 **To: Levi Ackerman**  
Reply-To: f/n l/n  
Re: Re: Tutoring tomorrow  
  
Levi,   
  
Tomorrow at 7 is fine.  
  
-f/n


	16. Chapter 16

You fidgeted with you sleeves as you stood outside the café. Your book bag was slung across your shoulder, weighted down by the supplies for your tutoring session. This isn’t anything special, you thought to yourself, trying to calm your quickening heart beat. It’s just like any tutoring session.  
With a sigh, you hoisted your bag up and grasped the metal doorknob to the store. Stepping into the small café, your nose was met with a pleasing mixture of coffee grounds, tea leaves, and fresh pastries. The scent did help your breathing to steady, if only a little.  
  
Glancing around, you quickly spotted Levi sitting at a table in the corner, sipping his tea while gazing out the window. You approached him, setting you bag down and taking a seat across from him.   
He set his tea cup down, and you could faintly smell the scent of black tea. “Thank you for meeting not at our usual time.”  
“Of course. It’s not a problem.” You nodded, beginning to pull out your books and papers.  
  
The time studying passed by smoothly, much more relaxed than you thought it would be. Levi seemed to be more open again, rather than the cold, closed-off way he had been acting recently, which was a relief as well.   
After nearly an hour had gone by, Levi glanced at his watch.  
“That should be fine for today,” he said, closing the textbook. “You’ve improved a lot.”  
You smiled faintly. “Thank you. It’s only because of these sessions that I’m passing.”  
You stuffed your supplies back into the bag, and lifted it onto your shoulder. You and Levi headed to the door, which he pushed ahead and held open for you. “Thank you,” you nodded to him as you passed.   
  
He closed the door behind himself, and you shifted awkwardly as he lingered by the store front. Levi was staring at you rather oddly, seeming to be in his own little world. His grey eyes looked even darker under the dimly lit sidewalk, but you could sense that strange softness in them nonetheless.  
“Um…” you said, waiting for him to say goodbye, or something. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”  
You gave a little wave, perplexed by the fact that he still didn’t react to you, before turning a heel and heading back toward your apartment.  
  
“Would you like to go for a walk?”  
  
Your breath halted at the sound of the man’s low, monotone voice. What did he just say?  
You turned around, seeing Levi still hadn’t moved. Maybe you had misheard him.  
“I’m sorry?” you asked.  
He took a step forward casually, hands in his pockets, and raised an eyebrow. “Would you like to go for a walk?” he repeated.  
  
Your mind immediately told you to decline, to think of an excuse and leave. That was the logical thing to do, the smart thing. He was your professor after all… Couldn’t this be perceived as wrong in the eyes of the university?   
But for some reason, you couldn’t bring yourself to say no. You didn’t want to, you realized. There was something about him that made you want to understand him better, to uncover the man behind the mask.  
  
“Um…” you said softly, not finding the courage to look him in the eyes just yet. “Yeah, okay.”  
Levi nodded, giving no response to your answer or even giving an indication he heard you. “Let’s drop your bag in my car then,” he said, and motioned with his head for you to follow him the other way down the block.    
You swallowed, and began walking behind the raven-haired man. He turned a corner and pulled out his keys, and you could hear a click as his black vehicle unlocked. You handed him your bag, which he put in the backseat.   
He shut the door, and now turned to face you. You rocked nervously on your feet, still not meeting his gaze. You may have accepted his offer, but this was all a little too weird still…   
He nodded his head down the road now, indicating for you to walk with him, which you obliged.  
  
Neither of you spoke for a minute, which only seemed to make your heart race faster. You didn’t feel as if it were your place to start a conversation. What did he even want with you anyway?  
You tried to focus on your surroundings. The sidewalk was dimly lit by the overhanging street lights, casting long, elegant shadows. The sun had now submerged completely below the horizon, leaving the sky painted a pure navy blue, with pale flecks of orange telling you twilight had not yet left. A star or two shimmered though, indicating the arrival of pure night was near.  
You closed your eyes now, as a light gust of wind blew across your face. The air was just a little chilly, but the kind that still felt comfortable, relaxing even, and you managed to calm your nerves.  
Sighing deeply, you remained unaware of Levi glancing at you out of the corner of his eye.   
  
His heartbeat quickened ever so slightly at the sight of your hair delicately blowing in the cool night air. Something about you in that moment looked so…free. Illuminated under the street lights, he caught the smallest sparkle in your eye as you continued to casually observe the passing scenery. There was something about the way you looked, the way you moved so gracefully, that Levi didn’t want to ruin the moment. He wasn’t sure when he might get a chance like this – to spend an evening walk with you on a beautiful autumn night.    
  
He sighed lightly, returning his gaze to the sidewalk and stuffing his hands in his pockets. But he needed to tell you…about your parents...about what he knew… That he was sure of.   
That was his intention for this walk. You deserved to know.  
He closed his eyes before taking a deep breath to calm himself.   
  
“How was your birthday?”  
The sudden sound of Levi’s voice made you jump a bit, even though he spoke barely louder than a murmur. You raised your eyebrows a bit, surprised by his question.  
“How did you–”  
“Erwin told me it was yesterday.”  
You nodded.   
“Oh, it was fine. I had a nice evening with the Smiths,” you spoke quietly, matching the level of Levi’s voice.   
“That’s good. They’re good friends to have.”  
  
You smiled softly, nodding in agreement.  
“Yeah. Sometimes I don’t know what I’d do without them. Erwin’s like a father to me.”  
Levi didn’t respond immediately, something you noticed he did often. He seemed to be deep in thought, pondering his next words. Sometimes, you wish you could understand what was going on in that complex mind of his.  
“What about Petra?”   
You glanced at the raven-haired man, a little surprised by his question.    
“Of course,” you nodded, “Petra too.”  
  
The conversation went silent again, but you had grown used to the extended pauses when you were with Levi. In fact, you were beginning to appreciate the ease in which the two of you could be comfortable together without speaking a word.   
The street lights were becoming more and more sparse, but this was no matter, as the moon was shedding a substantial light along your path. It was quite a beautiful night indeed…  
  
“Do you want to stop here for a bit?”   
Once again, you were taken out of your thoughts by the raven-haired man’s abrupt question. “Hm?” you asked, and noticed him indicating toward a wooden bench along the path.   
“Oh, yeah sure,” you said quietly, and the two of you took a seat. You were suddenly hyper-aware of your proximity to Levi when you sat, and you noticed he had sat himself near the middle of the bench, closer to you.   
You observed the raven-haired man out of the corner of your eye as he took a few deep breaths and bit his lip. Something about him seemed…off tonight. You couldn’t place a finger on it, but he seemed…almost nervous? No, that couldn’t be. When had Levi ever seemed anything but bored and somber?  
  
You dared to take a glance to your ide at the raven-haired man, trying your best to be discreet as you studied him for a moment. To your surprise, you had been right.  
Maybe not anyone would notice, but you had grown accustomed to Levi’s usual grim look, and you knew it enough to realize when something was off. His forehead creased ever-so-slightly, eyebrows raised anxiously not even a centimeter high. But what gave really gave him away was what lay below.  
His eyes. Though staring dead ahead, they told you something was clearly bothering him. Here was a man who had vacated himself from the moment, his mind somewhere else, but you couldn’t image where. Perhaps lost in a memory long ago? What kind of life had a man this intriguing led? you wondered to yourself.  
  
Feeling brave, you opened your mouth, no words coming out at first, and then in a quiet voice you asked, “Is…everything alright?”  
This seemed to snap Levi out of his temporary trance, and he returned your gaze, his cold, black eyes locking onto yours. You swallowed, feeling that familiar tingle in you chest you seemed to get every time your eyes met. For a while now, you had played this feeling off as a reaction to Levi’s intimidating nature, but while this may be partially true, your hammering heart seemed to be telling you there was more to it…  
  
The raven-haired man didn’t respond immediately, and returned  his gaze to the ground ahead of him. He exhaled audibly a couple times, something that perplexed you, as it seemed that he might have been working up the courage to say something.   
No… You shook your head.   
Why would Levi be nervous about talking to you?  
  
“f/n…”   
The words came out in a low mumble, and your heartrate immediately began to race at the sound of your voice on his lips.   
  
“There’s something I need to tell you.”


End file.
